Executive Order 9981

E23955

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.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Executive Order 9981 canonical 4
Truman desegregation order 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States executive order
legal document
aimedAt ending racial segregation in the U.S. military
alsoKnownAs Truman desegregation order
appliesTo National Guard units in federal service
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Army
linked to: United States Army

U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Navy
linked to: United States 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 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
Civil Rights Movement
desegregation in the United States
signatoryParty Executive Office of the President of the United States
signedBy Harry S. Truman
subject civil rights of African Americans
desegregation of the United States Armed Forces
yearSigned 1948

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

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

To Secure These Rights influenced Executive Order 9981
subject linked to: report "To Secure These Rights"
Truman administration issuedExecutiveOrder Executive Order 9981
Executive Order 9981 alsoKnownAs Truman desegregation order
linked to: Executive Order 9981
Tuskegee Airmen relatedEvent Executive Order 9981