a Christian conservative consensus in favor of the aggressive internationalism The Family called "Militant Liberty," an approach favored by internationalist Republicans and conservative Democrats. The 1958 election The major issue of the day was President Dwight D. Eisenhower's sending in federal troops to integrate Central High School in Little Rock (see also Little Rock Integration Crisis). Most Arkansas politicians opposed the intervention, but Hays (D) tried to mediate the standoff between the federal government and Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus. Hays was not an integrationist, and he had signed the 1956 anti-desegregation Southern Manifesto, but his actions inflamed segregationists in the state, who rallied around Amis Guthridge the attorney for several segregationist groups in the Democratic primary. Guthridge was backed by the White Citizens Council and ran on a pro-segregation platform. Hays prevailed by a 3–2 margin in the primary. Then, with just a week to go before the November election, Dale Alford, a member of the Little Rock school board, launched a write-in bid against Hays. Backed by Faubus' allies, Alford won in a major upset by just over 1,200 votes (51–49 percent). It was one of only three times in the past half-century (this was asserted in 2006) that a write-in candidate won a Congressional election. Post-congressional career During his last term in Congress, Hays was elected to serve as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention for its 1957–1958 term. He was nominated by J. D. Grey, long-term pastor of the First Baptist Church of New Orleans. In that capacity, Hays traveled with Rev. Dr. Clarence Cranford, his pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and president of the American Baptist Convention, to Moscow for a joint peace mission. From 1959 to 1961, after his congressional tenure had ended, Hays served on the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Hays served in the Kennedy administration as Assistant Secretary of State for congressional relations in 1961 and as Special Assistant to the President of the United States from late 1961 until February 1964. Hays became professor of political science at the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University and a visiting professor of government at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He served as director of the Ecumenical Institute at Wake Forest University from 1968 to 1970. In 1970 he was elected as co-chairman of Former Members of Congress, Inc. and served as the chairman of the Government Good