President Harry S. Trumans Executive Order 9981 :: essays research papers

President Harry S. Trumans executive director ordering 9981 On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman orders thedesegregation of the Armed Forces by Executive Order 9981. Prior to Harry Truman passing the Executive Order 9981 onFebruary 2, 1948 he asked Congress to create a permanentFEPC, and in December 1946, he establish a distinguishedpanel to serve as the Presidents Commission on CivilRights, which would recommend "more adequate means andprocedures for the protection of the civil rights of the flock of the United States." The Commission noted themany restrictions on blacks, and urged that each person,regardless of race, color or national origin, should haveaccess to equal opportunity in securing education, decenthousing and jobs. Harry Truman sent a special message toCongress on February 2, 1948 calling for promptimplementation of the Commissions recommendations.Southerners were unhappy with that idea and forthwiththreatened a filibuster, so Truman, unable to secure actionfrom the Congress had no choice notwithstanding to move ahead using his decision maker authority. Critics on Capitol Hill easilystopped his proposals.     Some historians believe President Truman had hoped tounite the Democratic Party bypromising civil rights to African Americans, but not pushingso fast as to alienate segregationists. Southern Democratsformed the Dixiecrat Party and nominated South CarolinaGovernor Strom Thurmond for president.      President Trumans Executive Board was the beginningstep for further integration in the Armed Forces. FollowingPresident Trumans Executive Order, two boards wereestablished to make recommendations about integration. Apresidential commission chaired by Charles Fahy recommendedan end to discrimination in jobs, schooling, assignment, andrecruitment.      In 1952 it was the Korean War that finally led to thedesegregation of previously all-white combat unit.The primary(prenom inal) goal of President Trumans Executive Order 9981 wasto grant equality of treatment and opportunity for allpersons in the armed services without regard to race, color,religion or national origin. There shall be created in theNational Military Establishment an advisory committee to beknown as the Presidents Committee on equation of Treatmentand Opportunity in the Armed Services, which shall becomposed of seven members to be designated by thePresident. He also states that the Committee shallconfer and advise the escritoire of Defense, the Secretary ofthe Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary ofthe Air Force.      Over 2.5 million African-American men registered forthe draft, and black women also volunteered in largenumbers. While armed service in the Army, Army Air Forces, Navy,