Firstly Truman had a positive impact via his setting up of the Civil Rights Committee and his empowering speeches that were focused on equality. Truman set up the Civil Rights Committee shortly after being outraged at the treatment of Black veterans coming home. The main aim of the committee was to monitor the progress of black people’s rights and find out how they could be helped.
After discovering reports of the treatment of black veterans coming home after fighting racial oppression, Truman said “My stomach turned over when I learned that Negro soldiers, just back from overseas, were being dumped out f army trucks in Mississippi and beaten. ” Him saying this clearly demonstrates that he felt admiration towards these veterans and was disgusted, hence alluding to his support for the Civil Rights Movement. This report was made so it could be brought to Congress as proof and aid his argument to pass civil rights legislations.
After it was published, it ‘Called for an end to segregation’. Eventually, Truman was able to use this report to partially stop segregation in federal hiring practices. However, this legislation still disregarded a huge proportion of blacks acing discrimination in housing, social life and education, as the main inspiration came from veterans many of the other African Americans weren’t helped in the same way. This report had a great impact as it made everyone in America aware of the situation faced by African Americans and created an agenda for following presidents.
However, this act can also be viewed as selfish and done in order to gain votes as he was losing support from black voters. Truman also began implementing desegregation in the army, an act that was completed by Eisenhower. Yet this idea was trongly opposed by high-rank officers who believed that two races shouldn’t be working together hence resulting in further discrimination and cruelty towards blacks in the army. Not only did officers not like the idea, “There was resistance to this order within the military.
Staff officers from all branches protested anonymously and sometimes even openly to integration” This showed how his actions were limited due to the racist ideas already buried deep into American mentalities. Furthermore, this act was not very effective towards the black population as a hole as there were not many African-Americans in the army at the time when compared to the whole population. However, this was seen as a pivotal first step in the fight against racism.
Another reason that people who were apart of the CRM found it hard to rally with Truman as at the beginning of his time in office, and prior to it, he was seen to be very racist. His racist ideas came through his speeches, for example he said “I think one man is just as good as another so long as he’s honest and decent and not a nigger or a Chinaman. ” This quote clearly hows Truman’s resentment towards other races prior to coming to power. This also shows the repercussions his character had on making major changes for the Civil Rights Movement as many key CRM figures failed to be able to trust him.
In the end Truman left with many unfinished policies for Eisenhower to carry forward, such as desegregation in other parts of society and the voting restrictions on blacks. Eisenhower carried forward the details from the Civil Rights Committee and he also noticed that many blacks were being stopped from voting via violence and threats from groups such s the KKK. Eisenhower, introduced the Civil Rights Acts in 1957 and another version in 1960. These acts made it a crime to stop people from voting on the grounds of race and threatening potential voters.
The one published in 1960 also formed a committee to monitor polling stations to ensure blacks were given equal opportunity. Despite his efforts, this act only added 3% of black voters to the register as the locals and the KKK used other forms of intimidation to stop blacks from reaching the polling station in the first place. However, this policy could’ve een said to be a pivotal moment as it became the first civil rights legislation passed by congress after 87 years, thus insinuating that more change is to come.
Moreover, Eisenhower also began desegregating the educational system despite being reluctant to enforce integration in the south. One of the key events at the time was the Little Rock Nine, where nine black students tried to join Little Rock High School and were met with threats of lynching and abuse from the locals. This event attracted wide-spread media coverage that went all over the world and appalled everyone. This forced Eisenhower to step in, to protect America’s name as the ‘Protector of Freedom’, and get the students to school safely using federal troops after the governor dispatched his own State Guard to keep them out.
This was a key event as it signified Eisenhower’s position and showed that he would only do something to help the CRM when his reputability is at stake. However, Eisenhower did appoint Earl Warren as the Chief of Justice in the Supreme Court and he was seen as being “liberal” and a champion of civil rights. Earl Warren carried through and contested many legislations in avour of the CRM, a key one being the Brown v Topeka case that ruled in favour of desegregation. On the other hand, Eisenhower’s acts were limited and suppressed the CRM as a result.
Firstly, with every legislation he passed, major changes had to be implemented to try gain support from southerners and gain their satisfaction. Eisenhower knew that if he failed to do this he would be unable to pass any key acts. For example, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 both had to be altered to try to suit the southern congressmen, otherwise no act would be passed at all. But this meant that the progress of the CRM was lessened as they would have to wait longer for an actual legislation that would majorly affect their rights.
Eisenhower’s background and views that he was bought up with made it difficult for people to put their trust in him. This sort of doubtful and unsure behaviour towards him was backed up by the fact that he never really admitted to supporting the CRM, he only did what he had to for vote and for certain situations such as the Little Rock Nine. Many authors and educated people at the time criticized what Eisenhower did, for example it was said that many were documents revealing Eisenhower’s leadership have either been unavailable or neglected” This quote shows the views that many people had on Eisenhower and where they felt he lacked.
He often turned a blind eye to lynching reports and didn’t fully address the issue of Jim Crowe Laws by himself and instead left it to the Supreme Court. Overall, I believe that Eisenhower had a mixed impact on the CRM at the time as he did things to help it yet he never empowered the movement by openly supporting it to guard his likeness with southerners. Also his implementation of the two acts paved the way for future presidents.
