A Guide to Primary Resources for U.S. History : Executive Order 9981 Truman Presidential Museum and Library: "Multimedia Digital Archives" On July 26, 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981 establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services. This project website, produced for the 50th anniversary of the Executive Order, presents the historic document as well as interesting background materials organized in an interactive format. This resource enables students to explore an important outcome of African American military service in World War II. The students can read the order and jot down ideas about how people might have responded to Truman's words (for example, from the perspective of an African-American WWII veteran, an American general, a NAACP lawyer, a white farmer, and a Soviet leader). This could be the beginning of a discussion on how the ideologies of the Cold War played out in the daily lives of Americans. Students can write a reactionary historical journal entry from the perspective of a former WWII African-American soldier (perhaps a Tuskegee Airman) to Truman's order. The teacher can prompt students to think about the emotions of an African-American who fought for a country in which his place is marginalized in society, especially when he was supposedly fighting to promote democracy. In the context of the increasingly threatening Cold War, what might such a person question about his country? The teacher should be sure to return to this document when the class begins to discuss the roots of the Civil Rights Movement.

(d) examining the significance of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in the framing of the Bill of Rights.

Virginia Declaration of Rights
Yale University Law School: The Avalon Project

Bill of Rights
Yale University Law School: The Avalon Project

Description: George Mason authored The Virginia Declaration of Rights which was adopted by the Virginia Constitutional Convention on June 12, 1776. Virginia was the first state to adopt a statement of personal rights and the document eventually became part of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This document, partially based on the English Bill of Rights of 1689, would later evolve into the United States Bill of Rights.

Teaching Tips:

"Do Now" Suggestions

Discuss why Virginia would create such a document on the eve of declaring independence from Britain.
Have students analyze the Declaration of Rights for strengths and weaknesses. Are their any rights that are included in the Untied States Bill of Rights that are omitted from the Declaration? Discuss how the two documents are similar and different. Focus on rights covered, organization, and wording of the rights.

Suggestion for Using this Resource as Part of a Lesson

Have students categorize the rights listed in the Virginia Declaration of Rights into groups such as religious rights, government protection, and judicial rights. Then compare the overview of each section to the United States Bill or Rights. Discuss how much is similar or modified.