Worksheet #14
President Harry S. Truman's Executive Order 9981, issued in 1948, marked the transition of the
black military experience from a period of segregated troops to one of integrated forces. The
order provided for "equal treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services" and
commanded the desegregation of the military "as rapidly as possible."
Source: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/images/executive-orderequal-rights-1.jpg