President Eisenhower and Kennedys reaction to Civil Rights Movement?

Question

President Eisenhower and Kennedys reaction to Civil Rights Movement?

Answer 1

Eisenhower Federalised the National Guard in Alabama to enforce desegregation in that state.

Answer 2

President Eisenhower was a soldier before being elected President.  The U.S. Military had already transitioned the social policy of integration within it's ranks to a far greater degree than American society. The U.S. Military has always been forward leaning on race relations due to the evolution of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and to date continues to lead in this area of human endeavor and achievement. "Ike's" reaction to the Civil Rights Movement was for him personally not a big deal, because he had already gone through it with the military in the position of being a 4 Star General (decisionmaker).

The Kennedy's where reluctant and did not want to do anything about the challenges that faced the Civil Rights Movement. The President John and his Attorney General Bobby Kennedy watched closely how Dr.King was treated in the South. The Federal Government bumped heads with Bull Conners Chief of Police who had passed a local ordinance to make punishable up to jail the right to have an organized public assembly.  Setting up violent confrontation with fire hoses, K9 Shephards and Revolvers on the planned peaceful demonstration.  And of course Governor George Wallace was in a chess match with Dr. King on who would win the proxy battle of wits in the streets, peaceful non-violent demonstration vs. an all out assult on the citizens of the movement.  The President and Attorney General watched closely, Alabama, because it was a tinder box waiting to blow. Dr. King was arrested in Alabama, the location of where he wrote his now famous Letter from the Birmingham Jail.  Mrs. King spoke with AG Kennedy, and after conferring with the President they sent word to release, Dr. King and began the Federalizaton of troops to bring order in Alabama and throughout the South.  This was a great political risk beyond the obvious. Resentment still lingered about States Rights over Federal Rights, the very cantankerous issue that unfolded the Civil War a Century early.  While the argument was not over slave states versus free states, the residual of the Civil War has not been laid to rest to this day (2008), when States Rights become the priority based on home rule, instead of a lumbering Federal Government clumsily applying an unfunded mandates to Local governments; one size fits all.

Answer 3

How about we go a little farther back than those two to find why this even came about.