America: Truman And Civil Rights Flashcards
What did Truman set up in 1946?
A special government committee to investigate the status of civil rights across the country
The comité appointed was made of liberal politicians and was to thoroughly investigate state by state, the rights of African Americans and then publish a report with recommendations for the president and congress
The report of the presidents committee on civil rights
An 178 page report published in 1947, proposing improvements to existing civil rights laws
It demanded that the government use its authority to end segregation,make lynching a federal offence,guarantee voting rights and make the FEPC permanent
Why did Truman nearly lose the election in 1948?
He urged congress to act on the report made by the PCCR
It was highly controversial and risky for him
He was a democrat, but most the democrats in the senate and representatives reliev on the votes of racists so didnt support civil rights
What did Truman commit to?
He committed the office of the president to civil rights
When was executive order 9981 issued?
26th July 1948 by Truman
What was executive order 9981?
It abolished racial discrimination in the United States air force and eventually led to the end of segregation in the military
How effective was executive order 9981?
It took the military 2 years to push through the law, very few African Americans became officers
However the number of frontline troops that were African American increased in the Korean War compared to WW2
Truman issued another executive order beneficial civil rights other than 9981. What did it do?
It guaranteed fair employment practices in all government jobs (extension of FDR’s FEPC)
The federal employment board was created in 1948 to give minorities equal treatment in government jobs
It did face a shortage of money and many federal agencies were too conservative to give support
What was Truman’s ‘fair deal’ programme an extension of?
New deal measures
How did Truman want to use the federal government? What obstacles did he face with this?
Wanted to use it to improve conditions,housing,education and support
He found it difficult because congress opposed a lot of his provisions
How did Truman attempt to reform housing and what problems did I it cause?
His urban renewal programme backfired
The idea was to knock down substandard housing estates and improve condition
Fewer houses meant a lot of African American families became homeless because more houses were knocked down than built
