Federal Troops Quotes

Later that year he sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce a desegregation order.

Reacting to the federal troops sent to Little Rock to enforce desegregation orders:

Armstrong rarely commented on politics (see {615854}), but the Governor defying the Supreme Court and not letting his people even go to school with other students was too much for him. He not only made the statement, but he approved it for publication. This shocked many who knew him as an apolitical person. He was particularly distressed with President Eisenhower who although he had warned Faubus that he would enforce the court order and then used federal troops to do so, Eisenhower was a man of action and not rhetoric and his lack of firm public statements overlooked an opportunity to use the Presidential “bully pulpit” and exercise his moral leadership and authority. Many then, and even 50 years later, were not sure where he stood on the issue of school desegregation.

Following the lead of Arkansas, many southern schools were closed by order of the Governor when they received a court order to desegregate. Southern education was the poorest in the nation and the Southern students not able to go to school made the situation worse. Governor Almond changing his position realized that the cost of defying the Constitution and the courts was the ignorance of the students of the state, and became a major force persuading the state to integrate their schools. He is remembered for his leadership of desegregation and most people have forgotten that at the beginning of his term as governor he was as bad as most of the other Southern segregationist politicians.

Armstrong rarely commented on politics (see {615854}), but the Governor defying the Supreme Court and not letting his people even go to school with other students was too much for him. He not only made the statement, but he approved it for publication. This shocked many who knew him as an apolitical person. He was particularly distressed with President Eisenhower who although he had warned Faubus that he would enforce the court order and then used federal troops to do so, Eisenhower was a man of action and not rhetoric and his lack of firm public statements overlooked an opportunity to use the Presidential “bully pulpit” and exercise his moral leadership and authority. Many then, and even 50 years later, were not sure where he stood on the issue of school desegregation. See {615852}.

Kentucky was a slave state but public opinion was not clearly in favor of secession. Governor Magoffin was a Southern sympathizer and wanted Kentucky to secede with the other slave states. However, the education level of Kentucky was greater than those of the deep South and the State Legislature and many Union patriots were generally pro Union. Only 16% of Kentucky were slaves. The economy of Kentucky was much more involved with the Northern States than the other Southern states. The legislature rebuffed the Governor’s call for a secession convention. Then Magoffin demanded that President Lincoln remove the Federal Troops that had been stationed in Kentucky. Lincoln did not want the Southern forces to occupy Kentucky and then use their occupation to pressure the State into joining the confederacy. Also, Lincoln took the position that as long as Kentucky was a state of the United States, they were obligated to assist in putting down the rebellion. At this time, the Kentucky Congressional Delegation was overwhelmingly pro Union, as was the new State legislature which had such a pro-Union majority that they could override the Governor’s veto. Less than two weeks later, September 4, 1861, Confederate Major General Leonidas Polk tried to occupy Kentucky as Lincoln had feared, and the Legislature asked the Federal Government to send more troops and eject the Southern forces from the South of Kentucky. Kentucky Confederate sympathizers formed a rump government and voted to secede, and despite Jefferson Davis’s concerns that the State Legislature was being bypassed, Kentucky was accepted in the Confederacy. The result was that there were Kentucky military units in the Confederate Army and in the Union Army with the latter being in the majority. Kentucky was on both sides. This delicate balance and that of Maryland was why Lincoln did not include those states in his Emancipation Proclamation.

Reacting to charges that Federal troops at the celebration of George Washington's birthday in Washington DC, would be viewed unfavorably by Virginians, Buchanan wrote:

Referring to the use of Federal troops under General Phil Sheridan to resolve a Louisiana election dispute:

Hayes had been informed that South Carolina "Red Shirts"—an armed band organized to restore white supremacy in their state—controlled the elections. This was his reaction.

This proclamation was obviously unconstitutional, but at the time no one challenged it in the courts. It is yet another example, where in an emergency, executive officers of government tend to over-reach and expand their power and authority using the necessity of the emergency as the justification. This case was particularly ironic in that the mayor, so concerned with law and order that he would summarily kill people suspected of looting, was indicted and convicted for corruption the following year. His jail time was limited by a successful court appeal, and he then lost as a mayoralty candidate, but did finally get elected to the San Francisco City Council. Of course, had he been shot when first suspected of his crime—as he proscribed for others--he would never have had the opportunity to appeal and be acquitted.