Executive Orders 9980 and 9981 (1948)
EXECUTIVE ORDERS 9980 AND 9981 (1948)
When issued by President harry s. truman, Executive Orders 9980 and 9981 were among the most far-reaching federal antidiscrimination measures adopted since Reconstruction. Executive Order 9980 authorized the establishment of review boards within federal executive departments and agencies to which employees claiming racially discriminatory treatment could appeal. It also established a Fair Employment Board to coordinate and supervise executive antidiscrimination policy and to hear appeals from agency and department review boards.
Executive Order 9981 declared it "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." To this end, the order established the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services to study and resolve the problem of segregation in the armed forces. Issued under pressure from black leaders, and in the midst of a reelection campaign, the order and the committee's recommendations were crucial first steps to desegregating the armed services.
Theodore Eisenberg
(1986)
Bibliography
Berman, William C. 1970 The Politics of Civil Rights in the Truman Administration. Pages 116–120. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.