Executive Order 9981

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Executive Order 9981 was a landmark 1948 directive by U.S. President Harry S. Truman that ordered the desegregation of the American armed forces and advanced civil rights for Black Americans.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Truman desegregation order 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States executive order
legal document
aimedAt ending racial segregation in the U.S. military
alsoKnownAs Executive Order 9981
surface form: Truman desegregation order
appliesTo United States National Guard
surface form: National Guard units in federal service

United States Air Force
surface form: U.S. Air Force

United States Army
surface form: U.S. Army

United States Marine Corps
surface form: U.S. Marine Corps

United States Navy
surface form: U.S. Navy

United States Armed Forces
appliesToCharacteristic color
national origin
race
religion
country United States of America
dateSigned 1948-07-26
established President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services
hasEffect accelerated dismantling of segregated military units
formal commitment to integrate U.S. armed forces
influenced later civil rights legislation
strengthened federal role in civil rights
hasJurisdiction United States government
surface form: federal government of the United States
hasOrderNumber 9981
historicalPeriod early Cold War
post–World War II era
issuedByOffice President of the United States
language English
legalDomain civil rights law
military law
legalStatus in force at time of issuance
locationSigned Washington, D.C.
motivatedBy African American veterans' demands for equality
contradiction between fighting fascism abroad and segregation at home
pressure from civil rights organizations
policyType civil rights policy
military policy
precededBy Executive Order 8802
presidentialAdministration Truman administration
principleDeclared equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin
relatedTo African-American history
American civil rights movement
surface form: Civil Rights Movement

desegregation in the United States
signatoryParty Executive Office of the President of the United States
signedBy President Harry S. Truman
surface form: Harry S. Truman
subject civil rights of African Americans
desegregation of the United States Armed Forces
yearSigned 1948

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Executive Order 9981 alsoKnownAs Executive Order 9981
this entity surface form: Truman desegregation order
report "To Secure These Rights" influenced Executive Order 9981
subject surface form: To Secure These Rights
Truman administration issuedExecutiveOrder Executive Order 9981