Oral history interview with Orval Faubus, June 14, 1974

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 20th century, the rising influence of the media in politics, and desegregation.