The President's Committee on Civil Rights was established by U.S. President Harry Truman's Executive Order 9808 on December 5, 1946. The committee was instructed to investigate the status of civil rights in the United States and propose measures to strengthen and protect the civil rights of American citizens. After the committee submitted a report of its findings to President Truman, it disbanded December 1947 The committee was charged with: (1) examining the condition of civil rights in the United States, (2) producing a written report of their findings, and (3) submitting recommendations on improving civil rights in the United States. In December 1947, the committee produced a 178 page report entitled To Secure These Rights: The Report of the President’s Committee on Civil Rights. In the report, it proposed to improve the existing civil rights laws; to establish a permanent Civil Rights Commission, Joint Congressional Committee on Civil Rights, and a Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice; to develop federal protection from lynching; to create a Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC); to abolish poll taxes; and urged other measures. On July 26, 1948, President Truman advanced the recommendations of the report by signing executive orders 9980 and 9981. Executive Order 9980 ordered the desegregation of the federal work force and Executive Order 9981 ordered the desegregation of the armed services. President Truman's decision to desegregate the armed forces was a risky one as it came one hundred days before the 1948 presidential elections. This controversial decision might have cost him the presidential elections of 1948 but despite the risks he still went through with it and became the 33rd president of the United States of America. It was on July 26, 1948 that Truman abolished the segregation laws. He was shocked by the way veteran African Americans soldiers were treated after World War II. Executive orders 9980 and 9981 were introduced to desegregate the workforce and the army. Truman risked alienating the southern democrats, who were against Civil Rights Legislation. It was thought at the time that losing these “Dixiecrats” would cost Truman the presidency. Several Newspapers pronounced early Truman’s demise only to find out later that Truman had indeed won one of the closest elections in history. The following is a quote by Harry Truman: “Without a contest between them, the white boy is automatically designated as the local champion and sent to the national tournament, while the Negro lad is relegated to the position of runner-up. What child can achieve any real understanding of fair play, or sportsmanship, of the rules of the game, after he has personally experienced such an example of inequality?” “It is impossible to decide who suffers the greatest moral damage from our civil rights transgressions, because all of us are hurt. That is certainly true of those who are victimized. Their belief in the basic truth of the American promise is undermined. But they do have the realization, galling as it sometimes is, of being morally in the right. The damage to those who are responsible for these violations of our moral standards may well be greater. They, too, have been reared to honor the command of "free and equal." And all of us must share in the shame at the growth of hypocrisies like the "automatic" marble champion. All of us must endure the cynicism about democratic values which our failures breed.” “The United States can no longer countenance these burdens on its common conscience, these inroads on its moral fiber.” You make the call: 1. Interpret what Truman is saying in his quote about civil rights. 2. Evaluate the argument that Truman makes about who suffers the most when people’s civil rights are infringed upon? 3. Formulate an argument on whether you agree or disagree with Truman on his stand on civil rights. Explain 4. The use of executive orders by a President, on such important issues as this one, is often criticized. Do you believe that Truman made the correct decision in this case or should he have left this decision for congress to decide? 5. Can you think of any current issues in the U.S. where civil rights are being questioned? Give at least two examples, and elaborate on the issues, and what you believe should be done.
The President's Committee on Civil Rights was established by U.S. President Harry Truman's Executive
Order 9808 on December 5, 1946. The committee was instructed to investigate the status of civil rights in
the United States and propose measures to strengthen and protect the civil rights of American citizens. After
the committee submitted a report of its findings to President Truman, it disbanded December 1947
The committee was charged with: (1) examining the condition of civil rights in the United States, (2)
producing a written report of their findings, and (3) submitting recommendations on improving civil rights
in the United States. In December 1947, the committee produced a 178 page report entitled To Secure These
Rights: The Report of the President’s Committee on Civil Rights. In the report, it proposed to improve the
existing civil rights laws; to establish a permanent Civil Rights Commission, Joint Congressional
Committee on Civil Rights, and a Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice; to develop federal
protection from lynching; to create a Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC); to abolish poll taxes;
and urged other measures.
On July 26, 1948, President Truman advanced the recommendations of the report by signing executive
orders 9980 and 9981. Executive Order 9980 ordered the desegregation of the federal work force and
Executive Order 9981 ordered the desegregation of the armed services. President Truman's decision to
desegregate the armed forces was a risky one as it came one hundred days before the 1948 presidential
elections. This controversial decision might have cost him the presidential elections of 1948 but despite the
risks he still went through with it and became the 33rd president of the United States of America. It was on
July 26, 1948 that Truman abolished the segregation laws. He was shocked by the way veteran African
Americans soldiers were treated after World War II. Executive orders 9980 and 9981 were introduced to
desegregate the workforce and the army. Truman risked alienating the southern democrats, who were
against Civil Rights Legislation. It was thought at the time that losing these “Dixiecrats” would cost Truman
the presidency. Several Newspapers pronounced early Truman’s demise only to find out later that Truman
had indeed won one of the closest elections in history.
The following is a quote by Harry Truman:
“Without a contest between them, the white boy is automatically designated as the local champion and sent
to the national tournament, while the Negro lad is relegated to the position of runner-up. What child can
achieve any real understanding of fair play, or sportsmanship, of the rules of the game, after he has
personally experienced such an example of inequality?”
“It is impossible to decide who suffers the greatest moral damage from our civil rights transgressions,
because all of us are hurt. That is certainly true of those who are victimized. Their belief in the basic truth of
the American promise is undermined. But they do have the realization, galling as it sometimes is, of being
morally in the right. The damage to those who are responsible for these violations of our moral standards
may well be greater. They, too, have been reared to honor the command of "free and equal." And all of us
must share in the shame at the growth of hypocrisies like the "automatic" marble champion. All of us must
endure the cynicism about democratic values which our failures breed.”
“The United States can no longer countenance these burdens on its common conscience, these inroads on
its moral fiber.”
You make the call:
1. Interpret what Truman is saying in his quote about civil rights.
2. Evaluate the argument that Truman makes about who suffers the most when people’s civil rights are
infringed upon?
3. Formulate an argument on whether you agree or disagree with Truman on his stand on civil rights.
Explain
4. The use of executive orders by a President, on such important issues as this one, is often criticized.
Do you believe that Truman made the correct decision in this case or should he have left this
decision for congress to decide?
5. Can you think of any current issues in the U.S. where civil rights are being questioned? Give at
least two examples, and elaborate on the issues, and what you believe should be done.
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