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Harry Truman & Civil Rights

Explore Harry S. Truman's impactful role in civil rights history, from his upbringing in a segregated environment to his groundbreaking Executive Order 9981 that desegregated the military. Uncover Truman's motivations, political challenges, and ethical considerations that led to this historic decision.

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Harry Truman & Civil Rights

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  1. Harry Truman & Civil Rights

  2. Background • Born in Lamar, MO (1884) • MO a former slave state • Maternal and paternal grandparents had owned slaves • Ancestors supported the Confederacy • Moved to Independence (1890) • Segregation and racism are prevalent

  3. Background cont. • WWI commands Battery D • Many Irish Catholics from KC • Haberdashery with Eddie Jacobson (1919-1922) • Local politics in the 1920s • Pendergast Machine • Diverse constituency • Supported funding for black hospital • Beginning to see African Americans as politically important?

  4. Senator Truman Elected in 1934 and 1940 Supports anti lynching law and abolishing the poll tax By 1940 Truman has to rely more on interest groups Pendergast is in jail

  5. WWII • African Americans are nation’s largest minority pop. (ca. 10%) • Over 1 million African Americans served in the war • Segregation and discrimination • Double V Campaign • NAACP’s numbers increase greatly during war

  6. President Truman • Sworn in as VP 1/20/45 • FDR dies (4/12/45), making HST president after only 82 days as VP

  7. The UN & human rights • UN created (6/26/45) • UN Commission on Human Rights (1946) • Important to civil rights organizations • Allowed groups to petition UN

  8. Postwar racial violence • Isaac Woodard (South Carolina 2/13/46) • Mob violence (Columbia, TN 2/24/46) • Lynching (Monroe, GA 7/25/46) • HST is alarmed and says he will fight to “end evils like this.” • National Negro Congress petitions UN • National Emergency Committee Against Mob Violence formed (August, 1946)

  9. Truman acts • Issues Executive Order 9808 (12/5/46) • Establishes President’s Committee on Civil Rights • To Secure These Rights (10/29/47) • Civil rights speech to joint session of Congress (2/2/48) • Issues Executive Order 9981 (6/26/48) • Requires military to desegregate • Democratic Party splinters prior to election of 1948

  10. Why did Truman do it? • Why do you think Truman decided to desegregate the military? Create a pie chart that illustrates President Truman’s motivation for issuing Executive Order 9981. Consider the following factors: • Political concerns • Ethical/moral concerns • Constitutional concerns • Provide a brief written explanation of your pie chart.

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