“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.”
Executive Order 9981, President Harry Truman, July 26, 1948
“Q. Mr. President… does your advocacy of equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Forces envision eventually the end of segregation?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes”
The President’s News Conference of July 29, 1948; Public Papers of the Presidents - Harry S. Truman
It is difficult to imagine that in the not-too-distant past, legal segregation was the rule for practically every aspect of American life – including the Armed Forces. Thinking of this year’s History Day theme, o
ne source of valuable primary source information for your student’s History Day project may be the Public Papers of the Presidents series. The Office of the Federal Register began publishing the Public Papers of the Presidents series in 1957 as an official publication of United States Presidents' public writings, addresses, and remarks. The series provides an historical reference covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. (The papers of President Franklin Roosevelt were published privately before the commencement of the official Public Papers series). The Wyoming State Library contains the print version of this series. These are located at call number AE 2.114:. Online versions from President Reagan to President Obama can be found at the National Archives website.
