Executive order 9980 notes and essay PDF

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Executive order 9980 notes and essay...

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“How significant were Truman’s actions to address the issue of Civil Rights?” Truman’s actions were quite significant to address the issue of civil rights, because they directly aimed to improve the conditions for Black Americans. Executive order 9980 was passed in July 1948. This ensured that fair practices were implemented in employment. This meant that Black Americans had to be considered for job openings and employed if the most suitable candidate. It also aimed to prevent the ‘last in first out’ culture that was very prevalent in American workplaces. This was where Black Americans where the last to be employed in good times, but the first to be fired when money was low. Now Truman created a merit-based employment system where the best workers would keep their jobs. However, some employers did not agree with this, and continued to treat black Americans as the worst employees. This is shown particularly when looking at Black American wages, as they were often paid a lot less than their white colleagues. However, some employers did follow Truman’s orders and unemployment among Black Americans did fall. This caused Black Americans to earn slightly more money, enabling them to purchase better quality, and their living conditions slightly rose. Therefore, Truman’s actions were quite significant to address the issue of civil rights, because they aimed to improve the conditions for Black Americans, however, his orders were sometimes ignored....