Executive Order 9981 - Banning the Segregation of the Armed Forces

This is the second page of an Executive Order signed by President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1948, declaring the equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin. The Executive Order established the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Forces. The purpose of the seven-member advisory committee was to oversee the rules, procedures, and practices of the armed forces to ensure that equality principles were followed and implemented.