Oral History Interview with Orval Faubus, June 14, 1974. Interview A-0031. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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Abstract
Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus reflects on the effects of his twelve-year tenure in the governor's mansion, state politics, and, of course, desegregation. Faubus paints himself as a populist who helped rescue Arkansas from backwardness with social programs and infrastructure. Merciless mischaracterizations from a lazy and hostile press have sullied his legacy, he claims, ignoring his many accomplishments and obscuring the true story of what happened on the courthouse steps in 1957. This interview will be useful to researchers interested in Arkansas politics in the middle of the twentieth century, the rising influence of the media in politics, and desegregation.
Excerpts
Faubus describes his social programs
Faubus describes successful programs and hopes for future success
Faubus defeats economic royalists to defend needy citizens
Increasing banality of politics
Dale Bumpers as a political phenomenon
Expanding influence of the media in politics
The paradox that is Huey Long
Hostile newspaper coverage for Faubus
A hostile press assails Faubus
In-depth description of 1957 desegregation crisis in Arkansas
Defusing tensions over desegregation
Media exaggerates Little Rock crisis
Frustration that federal government forced Faubus to deal with desegregation himself
Legal desegregation affects whites' attitudes toward blacks
Faubus describes his black support and the ill effects of integration
Faubus thinks busing is wasteful and illegal
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Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews
Subjects
African Americans--Political activity
Arkansas--Politics and government
Bumpers, Dale, 1925-
Democratic Party (Ark.)
Fulbright, J. William (James William), 1905-
Rockefeller, Winthrop, 1912-1973
Governors--Arkansas
Long, Huey Pierce, 1893-1935
Press and politics--Arkansas
School integration--Arkansas
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