Final answer:
President Eisenhower's ambivalence toward enforcing civil rights stemmed from his preference for states' rights, the priorities of the Cold War, and reluctance to force southern states to integrate forcibly. He engaged in civil rights enforcement, such as in Little Rock, only when absolutely necessary. The Civil Rights Movement evolved during his presidency from legal battles to more active direct protests.
Step-by-step explanation:
President Eisenhower exhibited ambivalence towards enforcing civil rights largely due to his belief in states' rights and the overriding concerns of the Cold War. Eisenhower did not agree with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Brown v. the Board of Education and was reluctant to force southern states to integrate. His Cold War priority was containment of Communism and maintaining a strong military, which sometimes held more importance than domestic issues like civil rights.
Nonetheless, during the crisis at Little Rock, he stepped in to enforce desegregation by sending federal troops to uphold the Court's mandate. This action underscored the complexities of Eisenhower's position - supporting the federal mandate when absolutely necessary but hoping to find less confrontational means to address civil rights, such as focusing on improving Africans Americans' voting rights.
The transition of the Civil Rights Movement from legal battles to direct action also highlighted the changing dynamics of the fight for racial equality. College students and black communities increasingly took action through boycotts and sit-ins, capturing international attention and putting pressure on the U.S. to reconcile its image as a leader of the free world with its domestic racial inequality during the Cold War.