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A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution

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A friend highly recommended this book. He told me that it gave him high respect for Eisenhower and his Attorney General, Herb Brownell.

Having read quite a bit of Civil Rights history and several biographies of Dwight Eisenhower, I thought I knew the Eisenhower's record on Civil Right. Wrong!

The author David A. Nichols, a history professor, was unknown to me before reading his A Matter of Justice. He did a superb job of providing detailed and extensive notes which gave me as a reader a great respect for the extent of his research and his perserverance in writing this book.

David Nichols' work on Eisenhower's support for the cause of civil rights, as the blurbs on the back cover indicate, advances the historical record. Eisenhower's view was that the best way to advance the cause of civil rights was through action rather than oratory. This approach to government was a consistent theme of Eisenhower's modus operandi as reflected in Fred Grenstein's ground breaking work. While Nichols enhances Eisenhower's civil rights record by calling attention both to his actions and his public and private comments, he also acknowledges Eisenhower could have (should have?) used the bully pulpit of the presidency more in support of the first Brown decision and the civil rights movements. Nichols lays much of the blame for southern resistence to Brown I to the Court's timidity in its enforcement decision, Brown II, and claims that Eisenhower also was disappointed in Brown II.

Eisenhower, whatever his motives and modus operandi, can be faulted for failing to recognize that a bully pulpit was needed in the aftermath of Brown I and that his overly legalistic and above the board approach stroked southern resistence. The repercussions of not using stronger rhetoric during his presidency caused ripples which reverberate today. While Eisenhower may have provided leadership, he failed to use all the tools of the presidency, including the bully pulpit, to provide moral leadership.

I found this book to be quite educational. It reviews the situation at the time and Ike's past and places his actions in perspective. Neither fawning nor overly flattering, it give a clear view of a decent but conflicted man of the times. The evolution of Ike's moral compass was very well presented. In light of the recent election campaigns, it presents some important history.

As one who vividly remembers Eisenhower's influence on the Civil Rights Movement, especially Central High at Little Rock when he sent in troops, I find this book to be a fascinating and accurate recounting of what many people have forgotten. Some seem to think that the Civil Rights Movement started with John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. They forget that Eisenhower was not only a great general, but a great President. This book is a must read!

Of all the re-examinations of Eisenhower since the 1960s, Nichols' books are the best. In this one he shows that the former President was actually a much better advocate for Civil Rights than previously thought. Nichols has a brisk writing style that makes reading history quick and enlightening. I wished there was more insight into some of the Southern leaders' mindsets, but this covers Eisenhower really well.

Eisenhower's sending in of the US Army to end segregation in Little Rock seems a much underrated episode in American history, not just the evolution of civil rights but a constitutional crisis. It was the real end of the civil war; states must abide by the law of the land.

This is my favorite kind of biography because it cuts to the chase, it has a colorful cast of characters (ex. Martin Luther King, LBJ), and interesting episodes.

When Dwight Eisenhower completed his two terms as president in 1961, it appeared that historians would treat him unkindly for his allegedly weak, somnolescent leadership. As president, Eisenhower lacked the charisma and forcefulness of his two immediate successors. With the passage of time, historians have become much kinder to Eisenhower and have recognized the deft character of his leadership and the nature of his accomplishments. But Eisenhower's reputation still tends to be tarnished by what is perceived as his indifference to civil rights.

David Nichols' book, "A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Civil Rights Revolution" (2007) is a close study the accomplishments and the deficiencies of Eisenhower's approach to civil rights. Nichols does not try to turn the received account of Eisenhower entirely on its head. Rather, he offers a well-document judicious portrayal of Eisenhower which shows that he deserves substantially more credit for his civil rights accomplishments that he generally receives. Nichols is a historian and a former dean at Southwestern College, Kansas. This book on Eisenhower was Nichols' first since 1978, when he wrote a book on Lincoln's Indian policy. Lincoln and the Indians: CIVIL WAR POLICY AND POLITICS In 2011, Nichols continued his late career exploration of Eisenhower with a book on the president's handling of the Suez crisis of 1956, Eisenhower 1956: The President's Year of Crisis--Suez and the Brink of War Nichols' two books on Eisenhower cover, of course, much of the same time period and can usefully be read together to understand Nichols' picture of the Eisenhower administration.

For Nichols, Eisenhower's civil rights policy emphasized action rather than rhetoric. This was both its strength and its weakness. Eisenhower was a "gradualist", for Nichols, who also preferred to work quietly for what he saw as right as opposed to touting and politicizing his civil rights accomplishments. Thus, upon assuming the presidency, Eisenhower quietly but decisively desegregated the District of Columbia, which was under Federal authority, and completed the work of desegregating the military which had been begun by his predecessor, President Truman. Eisenhower also worked towards desegregating the Federal work force and Federal contracting.

Eisenhower appointed cabinet members who were committed to ending discrimination, including his Attorney General, Herbert Brownell. Brownell filed strong briefs in the Supreme Court in favor of the plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education and in favor of stronger, faster remedial action than the Court eventually adopted. Eisenhower was actively consulted and approved the positions and the language of the briefs. Eisenhower and Brownell also made strong judicial appointments that supported the cause of civil rights. The first of these was Chief Justice Warren, although Eisenhower may have had second thoughts about this appointment. Eisenhower's remaining four Supreme Court appointments also were supportive of civil rights. Equally important, Eisenhower appointed strong Federal appellate judges in the Southern circuits who were to play a pivotal role in desegregation.

Eisenhower was more agressive in pursuing civil rights legislation than is usually appreciated. The 1957 civil rights act was the first such legislation in 80 years. It was a weak act, but Congress, including Lyndon Johnson, had gutted strong provisions in the administration's proposed legislation. A 1960 statute, late in Eisenhower's presidency was far stronger in providing protection for voting rights.

Eisenhower's finest hour in civil rights occured in 1957 when he sent troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to protect the judicially-recognized rights of nine African American students to attend Central High School. Although he was criticized both by segregationists and by liberals at the time, Eisenhower's approach to this situation gets a strong defense in Nichols' account. Eisenhower acted courageously and decisively to uphold the law and respect for the decisions of the courts.

In Nichols' account and in many others, Eisenhower's weakness was in his failure to use the office of the presidency as a "bully pulpit" to speak boldly of the importance of civil rights. Eisenhower failed to publically endorse the Brown decision but instead couched his actions in the legalistic terms of upholding judicial decisions and the rule of law. (In the Brown judicial proceedings, Eisenhower and the administration had strongly supported ending school desegregation.) Eisenhower did not take an active role in securing compliance with Brown: his legal options may have been limited in the absence of legislation. Eisenhower, regrettably, did not speak out following the Emmett Till murder in 1955, although he partially made amends by speaking out in a somewhat similar tragedy four years later. Whether from his own personal reservations or from the belief that activist rhetoric would have been polarizing and unproductive, Eisenhower was not an effective spokesman for civil rights during his presidency. His administration had some solid accomplishments which up until 1963-64 compared well with the accomplishments of his successors and paved the way for them

Nichols has written a thoughtful, sympathetic study of Eisenhower's civil rights record. He writes (p. 273): "Eisenhower was a 'gradualist' but so were most other politicians of the time. Martin Luther King. Jr. was morally correct to contend that 'justice delayed is justice denied' but Eisenhower was attempting to govern, not score debating points. An immediate and complete end to segregation was not politically feasible in the 1950s. Too often, the 'gradualist' label is used to close off serious analysis. The purpose of this book has been to clarify what Eisenhower intended and accomplished. Once that record is corrected, a more constructive dialogue about his leadership will be possible. To do that with integrity, the myth that he did nothing must be put to rest."

I have learned from reading Nichols' two books on Eisenhower, written late in his career. They reinforced my admiration for our nation's 34th president. More importantly the books reminded me of the values of American life and of the complexity in their realization, of the importance of openness to different opinions in working towards social justice, and of the rashness of rushing to preordained conclusions in historical inquiry.

Robin Friedman

The 1950s is often referred to nostalgically especially by those like me who grew up during this time period. Author David Nichols's book focuses on President Dwight Eisenhower's role during this often turbulent decade. Eisenhower ruled over five Supreme Court appointments, the first being Governor Earl Warren of California. Eisenhower had promised Warren the first vacancy that presented itself. This turned into being the position of Chief Justice which Warren filled. The 1954 decision of Brown vs. the Topeka, Kansas, Board of Education which overturned the 1896 case of Plessy vs. Ferguson which declared separate but equal facilities for both whites and blacks is dealt in detail. Eisenhower was so upset by the Brown decision of 1954 that he is often quoted as saying his appointment of Warren to be "the biggest damned fool mistake I ever made." Eisenhower didn't believe you could legislate moral values by saying, "You can't change the heart by passing a law." States rights, he believed, took precedence in government which also included schools. A rift developed between both Eisenhower and Warren, and has been detrimental to Eisenhower's reputation in regard to civil rights. Warren had come to resent Eisenhower the war hero, and Warren would have liked to have run for president in 1956 if Eisenhower had not run for reelection. In August of 1955 the murder of Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, sparked the civil rights movement. In December of that same year Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. When asked why she refused to give up her seat she said, "I thought of Emmett Till, and I just couldn't." This anecdote is not in the book, but it has appeared in others. The 1957 crisis in Little Rock, Arkansas, was another incident that erupted when Governor Orval Fabus refused to allow blacks to enter Central High School. Eisenhower was hoping for some vacation time where he could play some golf, and he now had his golf time rudely interrupted by another pressing civil rights matter. This book provides the reader with some of the turbulent times that provided previews of coming attractions during the 1960s.