Truman's Federal Civil-Service Fair-Employment Order

Truman's Federal Civil-Service Fair-Employment Order was one of two executive orders Harry S. Truman announced without warning during the 1948 special session of Congress. It promised fair employment in the civil service, making the federal workforce a focus of his effort to address discrimination through executive action.

Announcement and Scope

The special session had opened on Capitol Hill when Truman unexpectedly announced orders to end discrimination in the armed forces and guarantee fair employment in the civil service. The two measures addressed different parts of the federal government: one concerned the military, the other civilian public employment. The account identifies the order's aim but gives no further detail about its provisions or administration.

Place in the Civil-Rights Program

The following day, Truman addressed Congress with an eight-point program that included civil rights, along with proposals on consumer credit, taxes, rent and price controls, housing, farm support, education, wages, and the Displaced Persons Act. The fair-employment order was a separate executive action, not one of these legislative requests. Its announcement showed that Truman was pursuing civil-rights measures through executive orders even as he pressed Congress for a wider program.

Political Reception and Limits

Truman's appearance before Congress met a noticeably cool reception; some members did not rise as he entered. The two-week session accomplished little, and Truman presented the outcome as evidence that a Republican Congress stood in the way of social progress. The passage does not establish what effect the fair-employment order had in practice, but it records its place in a broader effort to make civil rights part of the federal agenda amid congressional resistance.