Desegregation of the U.S. military

The Event An executive order signed by President Harry S. Truman mandated the desegregation of the armed services and established an advisory committee to explore ways to implement the order

Also Known As Executive Order 9981

Date July 26, 1948

Place Washington, D.C.

Requiring the armed forces to desegregate was a direct challenge to prevailing Jim Crow laws and segregationist attitudes. Desegregation of the military acted as a precedent for other societal institutions, and as a result, civil rights began gaining prominence as a national issue during the late 1940’s.

Following on the heels of Executive Order 9980, which sought to establish fair employment practices in the federal workforce, Truman issued Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948. He called for “equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.” He authorized an advisory committee, the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Forces (later, the last word was changed to “Services”), to outline ways to achieve this goal. Without specifying a definitive time frame for enactment, he was able to assuage his critics, both politicians and military leaders alike. Despite mixed sentiments about this military policy, a confluence of factors contributed to the fruition of Executive Order 9981, namely the military performance of black soldiers in World War II, the political pragmatism of President Truman in his bid for reelection, a social climate within the United States that was challenging the existing racial stratification system, and the global context of the Cold War.

Military Issues

Race relations during the 1940’s were rooted in segregationist attitudes supported by Jim Crow laws and institutionalized racism. The armed forces reflected the larger societal context and maintained segregated units, despite the facts that African Americans had served in the military since the Revolutionary War. Their participation was characterized by segregation, quotas, and unequal access to top commissions. For example, in 1946 only one black soldier in seventy was a commissioned officer, while the rate for whites was one for every seven men.

The military service of African Americans was controversial. The justification for requesting slaves and former slaves to defend America was morally suspect. In addition, some claimed that black soldiers did not perform well. The military nevertheless utilized black soldiers and even integrated small units when confronted with manpower shortages.

By the end of World War II, the military was still segregated; however, some black units partnered with white units to carry out select missions. Although there was not uniform agreement about the success of the units’ combat performance or morale issues, their efforts demonstrated that camaraderie between African Americans and whites in the military was possible. For example, when the black 99th Fighter Squadron was prevented from attending an Air Force celebration, the white 79th defied their superior officers to insist on the inclusion of the black unit. The heroic efforts of the all-black 332d Fighter Group—the Tuskegee Airmen—of which the 99th Fighter Squadron became a part, won a Presidential Unit Citation, adding momentum to the call for military desegregation. The Tuskegee symbol of the “Double V” became a rallying point in the campaign against two enemies: fascism abroad and racism at home.

Political, Social, and Global Context

The issue of race was a salient factor in Truman’s 1948 presidential reelection campaign. The timing of Executive Order 9981 led Truman’s critics to conclude that his mandate was fueled more by political pragmatism than by humanitarian goals. Politically, Truman needed to garner the African American vote to win the Democratic nomination and the presidency. Desiring to support Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, black voters in the North became Democrats. This created contentiousness within the Democratic Party between northern liberals and conservative southern Dixiecrats. The balance tilted toward the northern liberals in 1948, when the party platform of the Democratic National Convention included a strong civil rights plank.

A southern contingent led by South Carolina governor Strom Thurmond left the convention in protest. Their behavior actually solidified support among black voters, who, already benefiting from a strong economy, came to believe that Truman was sincere in supporting civil rights. In fact, a survey by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) confirmed that 69 percent of all black voters in twenty-seven major American cities and communities did indeed vote for Truman. The black vote played a significant role in Truman’s presidential victory.

Truman also had to avoid looming social protests. A new draft law was to go into effect on August 16, 1948. A. Philip Randolph and fellow civil rights activist Grant Reynolds organized the League for Non-Violent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation and vowed resistance by African American youths if the armed forces remained segregated. About 71 percent of black youths polled at the time supported civil disobedience activities to promote desegregation. Fear of societal unrest was fueled by Randolph’s efforts in organizing protests, in addition to the work of the Congress of Racial Equality and the NAACP, led by its executive secretary, Walter White.

The NAACP and others highlighted the incongruity between behavior toward African Americans in America and the global post-World War II environment. The international climate in the late 1940’s was conducive to egalitarianism. The ideologies of Nazism and fascism were overcome by the United States and its allies, and scientific racism was no longer in vogue. The United Nations was created in 1945, followed by a Commission on Human Rights in 1946 to provide a global forum to voice human rights concerns. Despite these efforts, African Americans in America were still denied equal footing with whites. In fact, in 1946, black veteran Isaac Woodward was blinded by South Carolina policemen, and two black veterans and their wives were shot to death by a white mob in Georgia. This disturbed Truman, who instructed Attorney General Tom C. Clark to investigate and prosecute racially motivated crimes.

The dilemma Truman faced was reconciling America’s position in the world as a superpower fighting communism with the fact that the country maintained a segregationist culture at home. The United States had to bring societal reality in the United States more in line with its professed democratic foreign policy values. One step in that direction was Executive Order 9981 and the creation of the Fahy Committee (President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Forces), under former solicitor general Charles Fahy.

Findings of the Fahy Committee

Freedom to Serve, the final report of the Fahy Committee, was submitted on May 22, 1950. The report indicated that the Navy still limited the proportion of black soldiers on each ship to 10 percent. The Marine Corps integrated basic training but not its units. The Air Force was progressive in integrating units, eliminating quotas, and basing placement solely on ability. Within the Army, African Americans did not have access to about 40 percent of job classifications and 80 percent of its schools. The Fahy Committee recognized the need for military efficiency. Among its key recommendations was for the armed services to focus on ability, not race, in determining quotas and placement. All military branches officially accepted the committee’s report. The outbreak of the Korean War accelerated the process of desegregation. By the Vietnam War era, the military was fully integrated.

Impact

Regardless of his motivation, Truman ensured that the 1940’s would be pivotal in the history of race relations in the United States when he issued Executive Order 9981. From that moment, civil rights equality was pursued as a legitimate national concern. Advocates of racial equality became empowered, and the foundation was set for challenging the existing social order. The military became a model for the integration of other societal institutions. In particular, school desegregation followed in 1954 with the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. Military desegregation set a precedent for incorporating women into the military, which began in 1973. Executive Order 9981 also created an economic opportunity structure within the military institution for African Americans, as exemplified by the career of General Colin Powell. Executive Order 9981 was, in spirit, a call for tolerance.

Bibliography

Berman, William C. The Politics of Civil Rights in the Truman Administration. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1970. Documents Truman’s role in bringing civil rights issues onto the national stage.

Borstelmann, Thomas. “Jim Crow’s Coming Out: Race Relations and American Foreign Policy in the Truman Years.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 29, no. 3 (1999): 549-569. Sheds light on the international context of Truman’s initiatives on race.

Gardner, Michael R. Harry Truman and Civil Rights: Moral Courage and Political Risks. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002. Provides a detailed history of the Turnip Day Session of Congress on July 26, 1948, at which Truman issued Executive Orders 9980 and 9981.

Geselbracht, Raymond H., ed. The Civil Rights Legacy of Harry Truman. Kirksville, Mo.: Truman State University Press, 2007. A fine array of essays from multiple perspectives, including descendants of slaves, that evaluates Truman’s civil rights agenda.

Percy, William Alexander. “Jim Crow and Uncle Sam: The Tuskegee Flying Units and the U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe in World War II.” The Journal of Military History 67, no. 3 (2003): 773-810. A good history of the Tuskegee Airmen and their impact on military desegregation.

President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services. Freedom to Serve. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1950. Report of the Fahy Committee on implementing Executive Order 9981.

Segal, David R. Recruiting for Uncle Sam: Citizenship and Military Manpower Policy. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1989. Looks at parallelisms between racial and gender integration in the military.