ABSTRACT

Three years after World War II ended President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 on 26 July 1948, which in part read:

WHEREAS it is essential that there be maintained in the armed services of the United States the highest standards of democracy, with equality of treatment and opportunity for all those who serve in our country’s defense:

NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States, and as Commander in Chief of the armed services, it is hereby ordered as follows:

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. 1

On the surface, it was logical that Executive Order 9981 would come to fruition by 1948. Blacks had been serving the Nation in commissioned officer positions as early as the American Civil War 2 and as combatants since the American Revolution. A brief glance at the short period immediately after World War II, however, reveals that it was not a foregone conclusion for the Nation to come to such a historic order.