| Truman and the Desegregation of the Military (1944-1948) |
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Sections:- Historiography
- Integration by Necessity During the Second World War
- President Truman's Civil Rights Agenda
- A. Philip Randolph: Letter to President Truman (January 12, 1948)
- President Truman: Special Message to Congress on Civil Rights (February 2, 1948)
- Hubert H. Humphrey: Letter (26 April 1948)
- President Truman: Memorandum (22 March 1948)
- President Truman: Address in Philadelphia Upon Accepting the Nomination of the Democratic National Convention (15 July 1948)
- President Truman: Executive Order 9981 (July 26, 1948)
- Lesson Plans
- Truman and the Desegregation of the Military Powerpoint Presentation
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| The following monograph examines Truman's decision to desegregate the military in July 1948. Beginning with the service of African-Americans in World War II, the authors outline the steps leading to the eventual decision and provide interesting first-hand accounts of the initial months of desegregation. Although the military, at the time, was conservative and strongly opposed to the act, it eventually became the leading institution for racial change in the United States.
Sherie Mershon and Steven Schlossman, Foxholes and Color Lines: Desegregating the U.S. Armed Forces, (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1998).
The following monograph represents the most recent scholarship related to this module. Gardner presents an account of race relations in the United States in the immediate years after World War II. Outlining Truman’s unlikely rise to civil rights advocacy, the author examines the events leading up to his decision to desegregate the military.
Michael R. Gardner, Harry Truman and Civil Rights: Moral Courage and Political Risks, Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2003.
The following article examines race relations in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. The Tuskegee Airman are studied in detail as well as other African-American airman. Ultimately, the success of the Tuskegee airman propelled Truman to desegregate the military in 1948.
William Alexander Percy, "Jim Crow and Uncle Sam: The Tuskegee Flying Units and the U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe During World War II," The Journal of Military History, V. 67, N. 3, July 2003, 773-810.
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| During the Second World War, though the American military was segregated, social mores often were supplanted by the realities of combat. In the Battle of the Bulge for instance, as American soldiers were being badly mauled by a desperate German counter-offensive, the army asked for African-American volunteers from service units to fight along side white troops on the front lines. The response to the call was overwhelming. As Doris Kearns Goodwin states in No Ordinary Time, "Negro soldiers recognized that they were being presented with an opportunity to affirm their competence and courage on the battlefield and to prove that whites and blacks could work together." By the time the German offensive had been turned, many prejudices had broken down among the racially mixed units. When white troops had first heard about the plan for integrated troops, 64 percent admitted they were skeptical; however, after fighting with black soldiers, 77 percent had said their attitude toward integration was "highly favorable." When the battle was finished, the black soldiers were returned to their service units but, as Goodwin noted, "the excellent performance of the integrated platoons demonstrated once again the waste and impracticality of segregation."
In this photo, an African American machine-gunner pauses for a moment in France, 1944.
Questions to consider:
1. Do you think the military should base personnel policies, such as integration, on the opinion of the troops? Or, do you think military authorities should take advantage of the rank stucture and culture of discipline in the armed services, implementing and enforcing policies from the "top-down"? Explain your answer.
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| Following the Second World War, the Truman Administration found itself in a difficult position in regards to segregation. The United States had just concluded a war against nations that practiced racism at its most wretched extent, yet the Jim Crow system persisted through much of the country.
This was especially embarrassing when the United States sought to differentiate itself from the Soviet Union on the basis of freedom. That so many were not free in the United States undermined the essential American message, particularly in the Third World.
Despite this, any attempt to unseat the Jim Crow system would face daunting political obstacles. Although many African-Americans had come to represent a sizable political constituency in many Northern cities, Southern segregationists were sure to block any civil rights legislation in the Senate.
In this portion of his 1948 State of the Union Address, President Truman discusses his Civil Rights goals in broad terms.
Questions to consider:
1. Why would the Cold War influence United States officials to take action on civil rights for African Americans?
2. According to Truman, to violate the civil rights of certain individuals is to fundamentally oppose what American ideal?
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| In late summer 1947, President Truman requested passage of the Universal Military Training program, a preparedness regimen that would require every young man between the ages of eighteen and twenty to be trained for one year as part of a reserve force. These units would be called to active duty in the event of a major war. Though it was unlikely that Congress would enact this plan, it seemed certain that some kind of draft legislation would be forthcoming. Despite Truman’s forward steps in civil rights, civil rights leader A. Phillip Randolph had criticized the president for not backing his words with action. It concerned Randolph that despite the recommendation of the Committee on Civil Rights, by late 1947 draft legislation and a Universal Military Training bill were before Congress with "Jim Crow" still very much in place. In December 1947 Randolph asked the president for a meeting to discuss the bill. He and his committee had received a polite reply from the president’s secretary: "While I appreciate your desire to talk over this matter with the President in person, it is not going to be possible to arrange an interview in the near future."
By January, Randolph was writing again, this time telling the president that he could not imagine what could have greater urgency on his schedule than the "just concern and long-accumulated grievances of one-tenth of the population." By this time, the president’s administrative assistant, David Niles, suggested that Randolph’s group be received, saying in an internal White House memo: "Phil Randolph, the signer of this letter, is an important Negro. He is the head of the Negro Pullman Porters Union, and is not a left-winger." .
Questions to consider:
1. What does Randolph mean by the phrase "healthy state of the body politic"?
2. Summarize the argument Randolph uses to try and secure a personal meeting with the President. Why do you think the administration found it convincing? |
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| In 1946, Truman established the President's Committee on Civil Rights by executive order. Though the committee found that some strides had been made toward basic Civil Rights in recent years, Truman asserted that the group recognized that "there is a serious gap between our ideals and some of our practices." Their report, To Secure These Rights, which established a federal agenda for ending discrimination, called for a variety of measures including federal anti-lynching legislation and a permanent commission on civil rights.
In this 1948 Special Message to Congress on Civil Rights, President Truman outlines ten legislative objectives for strengthening to constitutional rights of minorities. He also outlines the steps to be taken by the federal government to end discrimination.
Note: Truman's specific treatment of matters pertaining to the armed services begins on page 3.
Questions to consider:
1. With regard to Civil Rights, what actions can the executive branch take? The legislative branch?
2. What does Truman mean by "position of the United States in the world today"? Why does he mention this in conjuction with Civil Rights? |
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| | As the issue heated up, Hubert Humphrey, Mayor of Minneapolis, sent a letter to James Forrestal, Secretary of Defense, asking whether Minnesota Governor Luther Youngdahl's plan to issue an executive order prohibiting discrimination in the Minnesota National Guard would result in the federal government withholding from Minnesota funding related to the National Guard. Humphrey notes that a similar letter from Youngdahl to Forrestal had not been answered, urges Forrestal to comply with Youngdahl's request, and says the U.S. ought to eliminate discrimination in the Armed Services. Questions to consider
1. What is Humphrey's main concern?
2. What argument does he use? |
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| On 22 March 1948, President Truman received a memo from the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service and Training criticizing his support of the Universal Military Training bill as it contained no provision to eliminate segregation from the armed forces. Furthermore, the memo criticized Secretary of the Army Kenneth C. Royall for maintaining segregation in the National Guard.
Questions to consider:
1.What is the Committee's main argument? What tactic are they using to achieve equality? |
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| | In the late 1950s, the Democratic Party was divided on the issue of civil rights. While many Northern Democrats supported civil rights legislation, Southern Democrats were vehemently opposed. In the Senate, Southern Democrats were able to kill civil rights legislation through the filibuster as proponents lacked the votes necessary to impose cloture and thereby force a vote. These tensions in the Democratic Party were on full display at the 1948 convention. In this selection from his nomination address, President Truman attacks Senators of his own party for their unwillingness to enact civil rights legislation. Questions to consider:
1. What is Truman most upset about? |
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| | On 26 July 1948, President Harry S Truman signed Executive Order 9981, establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services and ordered an end to segregation in the armed forces. It was accompanied by Executive Order 9980, which created a Fair Employment Board to eliminate racial discrimination in federal employment.
Segregation in the military services did not officially end until the Secretary of Defense announced on 30 September 1954 that the last all-black unit had been abolished. However, the president's directive put the armed forces, albeit reluctantly, at the forefront of the growing movement to win a fully participatory social role for the nation's African-American citizens.
Executive Order 9981 is included below.
Questions to consider:
1. Though it is difficult to comprehend now, integration of the armed forces was a very controversial issue in 1948. Should the President, through his Executive Order powers, be able to enact controversial measures without the consent of Congress? Do you think that this is contrary to our democratic principles? Would your opinion change if it were a subject not widely accepted as good? Why or why not?
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| | Below are lesson plans relevant to the subject |
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| | This Powerpoint Presentation for use in the classroom closely follows this module and contains additional pictures. |
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