This study investigates the integration of Afro-Americans into the United States Army. On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed and issued Executive Order 9981 mandating equal treatment and opportunity for all personnel in the U.S. Armed Services. Many historians, civil rights advocates, political pundits, and other knowledgeable people, often cite this order as integrating the armed forces. However, examination of the order shows that it said nothing about integration, although President Truman clearly intended it as a desegregation tool for the services. This study also investigates how political, civil rights, and military forces coincided to produce the executive order and determines if the order integrated the U.S. Army. Of all the services, the Army was the staunchest defender of segregation within its ranks. President Truman issued the order in 1948, yet the Army inactivated its last segregated unit in 1954. The intervening years saw slow acceptance of desegregation after the issuance of the order. However, acceptance grew quickly during the Korean War because of military necessity. This study ascertains that although Executive Order 9981 did not, in and of itself, integrate the Army, it did start the process that ultimately led to desegregation.

ADA 272731 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)