In 1957, Little Rock, Arkansas went through desegregation under President Eisenhower. This was one of the most important home problems he faced, as President was the Civil Rights Movement. Although the famous court case, Brown vs. The Board of Education, had declared that the separation of blacks and whites in the South was unconstitutional, many Southern states refused to integrate their schools. Little Rock Central High School was one of the schools.

After several years of refusing, they were to begin their desegregation. On September 2, the night before the first day of school, the Governor announced that he had ordered the Arkansas National Guard to monitor the school. When a group of nine black students arrived at the high school on September 3, they were stopped form entering school. On September 20, an order against the Governor was issued and three days later the students returned back to the school. Although the students were not injured, a group of 1,000 people stopped them from entering the school.

After many efforts, the Presidents sent 1,000 troops and 10,000 guards to Little Rock. On September 25, Central High School was finally allowed blacks to enter the school. As a result of the Little Rock incident and the President passed the Civil Rights Bill of 1960, the first Civil Rights law passed in 80 years. This was the first in a series of bills that would be passed over the next decade to enforce the racial equality of African-Americans in the United States.