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Executive Order 9981

February 15, 2024

Executive Order 9981 was issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman. This executive order abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces. The Order led to the re-integration of the services during the Korean War (1950–1953).[1] It was a crucial event in the post-World War II civil rights movement and a major achievement of Truman's presidency.[2][3] Executive Order 9981 was issued primarily due to an attack on Isaac Woodard who was an American soldier and African-American World War II veteran. On February 12, 1946, hours after being honorably discharged from the United States Army, he was attacked while still in uniform by South Carolina police as he was taking a bus home. The attack left Woodard completely and permanently blind. President Harry S. Truman ordered a federal investigation.

Executive Order 9981

Truman subsequently established a national interracial commission, made a historic speech to the NAACP and the nation in June 1947 in which he described civil rights as a moral priority, submitted a civil rights bill to Congress in February 1948, and issued Executive Orders 9980 and 9981 on June 26, 1948, desegregating the armed forces and the federal government.

Before Executive Order 9981 edit

 
The Chicago Defender announcing Executive Order 9981

Black Americans in the military worked under different rules that delayed their entry into combat. They had to wait four years before they could begin combat training while a white American would begin training within months of being qualified. The Air Corps was deliberately delaying the training of African Americans even though it needed more manpower (Survey and Recommendations[4]). The Women's Army Corps (WAC) reenlistment program was open to black women, but overseas assignments were not.[5]

Black soldiers who were stationed in Britain during World War II learned that the US military attempted to impose Jim Crow segregation on them even though Britain did not practice the racism which was practiced in the US. According to author Anthony Burgess, when pub owners in Bamber Bridge were told to segregate their facilities by the US military, they installed signs that read "Black Troops Only". One soldier commented: "One thing I noticed here and which I don't like is the fact that the English don't draw any color line. The English must be pretty ignorant. I can't see how a white girl could associate with a negro."[6]

In a 1945 survey which was conducted among 250 white officers and sergeants who had a colored platoon assigned to their company, the following results were collected: 77% of both officers and sergeants said that they had become more favorable towards black soldiers after a black platoon was assigned to their company (no cases were found in which someone said that their attitude towards blacks had turned less favorable), 84% of officers and 81% of sergeants thought that the black soldiers had performed very well in combat, only 5% of officers and only 4% of sergeants thought that black infantry soldiers were not as good as white infantry soldiers, and 73% of officers and 60% of sergeants thought that black soldiers and white soldiers got along very well when they were together.[7] According to this particular survey, there were no reasonable grounds for racial segregation in the armed forces.

Attempts to end discrimination edit

 
World War II veteran Spencer Moore addresses the audience in the Capitol Rotunda, Washington, D.C., at an event marking the 60th anniversary of the integration of the U.S. Armed Forces (July 23, 2008).
 
World War II veterans talk with audience members in the Capitol Rotunda at an event marking the 60th anniversary of Executive Order 9981 (July 23, 2008).

In 1947, civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph, along with colleague Grant Reynolds, renewed efforts to end discrimination in the military, forming the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service and Training, later renamed the League for Non-Violent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation.[8] Truman's Order expanded on Executive Order 8802 by establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the military for people of all races, religions, or national origins.

The order:

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.

The order also established a committee to investigate and make recommendations to the civilian leadership of the military to implement the policy.

The order eliminated Montford Point as a segregated Marine boot camp. It became a satellite facility of Camp Lejeune.[9]

Most of the actual enforcement of the order was accomplished by President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration (1953–1961), including the desegregation of military schools, hospitals, and bases. The last of the all-black units in the United States military was abolished in September 1954.[10]

Kenneth Claiborne Royall, Secretary of the Army since 1947, was forced into retirement in April 1949 for continuing to refuse to desegregate the army nearly a year after President Truman's Order.[11]

Fifteen years after Truman's order, on July 26, 1963, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara issued Directive 5120.36 encouraging military commanders to employ their financial resources against facilities used by soldiers or their families that discriminated based upon sex or race.[12]

In contravention to Truman's executive order, the United States complied with a non-public request from the Icelandic government not to station black soldiers on the US base in Keflavík, Iceland. The United States complied with the Icelandic request until the 1970s and 1980s when black soldiers began to be stationed in Iceland.[13]

References edit

  1. ^ "Executive Order 9981". Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  2. ^ Evans, Farrell (November 5, 2020). . history.com. A&E Television Networks. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "How Harry S. Truman went from being a racist to desegregating the military". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  4. ^ "Survey and Recommendations Concerning the Integration of the Negro Soldier into the Army". Harry S. Truman Library. September 22, 1941.
  5. ^ Morden, Bettie J. (1990). "The Women's Army Corps, 1945–1978". history.army.mil. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History. pp. 85–87. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  6. ^ Rice, Alan (June 22, 2018). "Black troops were welcome in Britain, but Jim Crow wasn't: the race riot of one night in June 1943". The Conversation. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  7. ^ . Harry S. Truman Library. July 3, 1945. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017.
  8. ^ Susan M. Glisson, The Human Tradition in the Civil Rights Movement (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), 91
  9. ^ "Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune – History". Official Website of the United States Marine Corps. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  10. ^ Nichols, David A. (2007). A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 42–50. ISBN 978-1-4165-4554-5.
  11. ^ Robert B. Edgerton, Hidden Heroism: Black Soldiers in America's Wars, Barnes & Noble, 2009, p. 165
  12. ^ MacGregor, Morris J. Jr. (2001). "Integration of the Armed Forces". history.army.mil. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History. pp. 548–549. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  13. ^ Ingimundarson, Valur (October 1, 2004). "Immunizing against the American Other: Racism, Nationalism, and Gender in U.S.-Icelandic Military Relations during the Cold War". Journal of Cold War Studies. 6 (4): 65–88. doi:10.1162/1520397042350892. ISSN 1520-3972. S2CID 57559468.

Further reading edit

  • Gardner, Michael R. Harry Truman and civil rights (SIU Press, 2002) online
  • Gropman, Alan L. The Air Force Integrates, 1949–1964 (Office of Air Force History, 1986) online
  • Rottinghaus, Brandon, and Adam L. Warber. "Unilateral orders as constituency outreach: executive orders, proclamations, and the public presidency." Presidential Studies Quarterly 45.2 (2015): 289–309.
  • Taylor, Jon E. Freedom to Serve: Truman, Civil Rights, and Executive Order 9981 (Routledge, 2013)
  • Warber, Adam L., Yu Ouyang, and Richard W. Waterman. "Landmark executive orders: Presidential leadership through unilateral action." Presidential Studies Quarterly 48.1 (2018): 110–126.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Executive Order 9981.
 
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Executive Order 9981

February 15, 2024
executive, order, 9981, issued, july, 1948, president, harry, truman, this, executive, order, abolished, discrimination, basis, race, color, religion, national, origin, united, states, armed, forces, order, integration, services, during, korean, 1950, 1953, cr. Executive Order 9981 was issued on July 26 1948 by President Harry S Truman This executive order abolished discrimination on the basis of race color religion or national origin in the United States Armed Forces The Order led to the re integration of the services during the Korean War 1950 1953 1 It was a crucial event in the post World War II civil rights movement and a major achievement of Truman s presidency 2 3 Executive Order 9981 was issued primarily due to an attack on Isaac Woodard who was an American soldier and African American World War II veteran On February 12 1946 hours after being honorably discharged from the United States Army he was attacked while still in uniform by South Carolina police as he was taking a bus home The attack left Woodard completely and permanently blind President Harry S Truman ordered a federal investigation Executive Order 9981Truman subsequently established a national interracial commission made a historic speech to the NAACP and the nation in June 1947 in which he described civil rights as a moral priority submitted a civil rights bill to Congress in February 1948 and issued Executive Orders 9980 and 9981 on June 26 1948 desegregating the armed forces and the federal government Contents 1 Before Executive Order 9981 2 Attempts to end discrimination 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksBefore Executive Order 9981 edit nbsp The Chicago Defender announcing Executive Order 9981Black Americans in the military worked under different rules that delayed their entry into combat They had to wait four years before they could begin combat training while a white American would begin training within months of being qualified The Air Corps was deliberately delaying the training of African Americans even though it needed more manpower Survey and Recommendations 4 The Women s Army Corps WAC reenlistment program was open to black women but overseas assignments were not 5 Black soldiers who were stationed in Britain during World War II learned that the US military attempted to impose Jim Crow segregation on them even though Britain did not practice the racism which was practiced in the US According to author Anthony Burgess when pub owners in Bamber Bridge were told to segregate their facilities by the US military they installed signs that read Black Troops Only One soldier commented One thing I noticed here and which I don t like is the fact that the English don t draw any color line The English must be pretty ignorant I can t see how a white girl could associate with a negro 6 In a 1945 survey which was conducted among 250 white officers and sergeants who had a colored platoon assigned to their company the following results were collected 77 of both officers and sergeants said that they had become more favorable towards black soldiers after a black platoon was assigned to their company no cases were found in which someone said that their attitude towards blacks had turned less favorable 84 of officers and 81 of sergeants thought that the black soldiers had performed very well in combat only 5 of officers and only 4 of sergeants thought that black infantry soldiers were not as good as white infantry soldiers and 73 of officers and 60 of sergeants thought that black soldiers and white soldiers got along very well when they were together 7 According to this particular survey there were no reasonable grounds for racial segregation in the armed forces Attempts to end discrimination edit nbsp World War II veteran Spencer Moore addresses the audience in the Capitol Rotunda Washington D C at an event marking the 60th anniversary of the integration of the U S Armed Forces July 23 2008 nbsp World War II veterans talk with audience members in the Capitol Rotunda at an event marking the 60th anniversary of Executive Order 9981 July 23 2008 In 1947 civil rights activist A Philip Randolph along with colleague Grant Reynolds renewed efforts to end discrimination in the military forming the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service and Training later renamed the League for Non Violent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation 8 Truman s Order expanded on Executive Order 8802 by establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the military for people of all races religions or national origins The order It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race color religion or national origin This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale The order also established a committee to investigate and make recommendations to the civilian leadership of the military to implement the policy The order eliminated Montford Point as a segregated Marine boot camp It became a satellite facility of Camp Lejeune 9 Most of the actual enforcement of the order was accomplished by President Dwight D Eisenhower s administration 1953 1961 including the desegregation of military schools hospitals and bases The last of the all black units in the United States military was abolished in September 1954 10 Kenneth Claiborne Royall Secretary of the Army since 1947 was forced into retirement in April 1949 for continuing to refuse to desegregate the army nearly a year after President Truman s Order 11 Fifteen years after Truman s order on July 26 1963 Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara issued Directive 5120 36 encouraging military commanders to employ their financial resources against facilities used by soldiers or their families that discriminated based upon sex or race 12 In contravention to Truman s executive order the United States complied with a non public request from the Icelandic government not to station black soldiers on the US base in Keflavik Iceland The United States complied with the Icelandic request until the 1970s and 1980s when black soldiers began to be stationed in Iceland 13 References edit Executive Order 9981 Harry S Truman Library and Museum Retrieved December 24 2011 Evans Farrell November 5 2020 Why Harry Truman Ended Segregation in the US Military in 1948 history com A amp E Television Networks Archived from the original on January 9 2021 Retrieved January 24 2021 How Harry S Truman went from being a racist to desegregating the military Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved April 20 2022 Survey and Recommendations Concerning the Integration of the Negro Soldier into the Army Harry S Truman Library September 22 1941 Morden Bettie J 1990 The Women s Army Corps 1945 1978 history army mil Washington D C U S Army Center of Military History pp 85 87 Retrieved October 23 2019 Rice Alan June 22 2018 Black troops were welcome in Britain but Jim Crow wasn t the race riot of one night in June 1943 The Conversation Retrieved May 30 2021 Opinions About Negro Infantry Platoons in White Companies of 7 Divisions Harry S Truman Library July 3 1945 Archived from the original on October 10 2017 Susan M Glisson The Human Tradition in the Civil Rights Movement Rowman amp Littlefield 2006 91 Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune History Official Website of the United States Marine Corps Retrieved March 24 2017 Nichols David A 2007 A Matter of Justice Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution New York Simon and Schuster pp 42 50 ISBN 978 1 4165 4554 5 Robert B Edgerton Hidden Heroism Black Soldiers in America s Wars Barnes amp Noble 2009 p 165 MacGregor Morris J Jr 2001 Integration of the Armed Forces history army mil Washington D C U S Army Center of Military History pp 548 549 Retrieved October 23 2019 Ingimundarson Valur October 1 2004 Immunizing against the American Other Racism Nationalism and Gender in U S Icelandic Military Relations during the Cold War Journal of Cold War Studies 6 4 65 88 doi 10 1162 1520397042350892 ISSN 1520 3972 S2CID 57559468 Further reading editGardner Michael R Harry Truman and civil rights SIU Press 2002 online Gropman Alan L The Air Force Integrates 1949 1964 Office of Air Force History 1986 online Rottinghaus Brandon and Adam L Warber Unilateral orders as constituency outreach executive orders proclamations and the public presidency Presidential Studies Quarterly 45 2 2015 289 309 Taylor Jon E Freedom to Serve Truman Civil Rights and Executive Order 9981 Routledge 2013 Warber Adam L Yu Ouyang and Richard W Waterman Landmark executive orders Presidential leadership through unilateral action Presidential Studies Quarterly 48 1 2018 110 126 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Executive Order 9981 nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Executive Order 9981 Full text of Executive Order 9981 Archived January 22 2019 at the Wayback Machine from the Harry S Truman Presidential Library and Museum Integration of the Armed Forces 1940 1965 Defense Studies Series by Morris J MacGregor Jr from the United States Army Center of Military History Blacks Must Wage Two Wars The Freeman Field Uprising amp WWII Desegregation Indiana Historical Bureau Fighting Together in Korea episode of the BBC World Service s radio program The Documentary concerning the effects of Executive Order 9981 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Executive Order 9981 amp oldid 1197343904, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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