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 Statute for Religious Freedom
Library of Virginia

Bill of Rights
Yale University Law School: The Avalon Project

Description: The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1779. James Madison led the campaign for its adoption by the Virginia Legislature in 1786. The Statute was written to end tax supported churches and interference from the government into one’s personal religion. This was the first document to call for the separation of church and state. Other states followed suit with similar legislation. This document became the basis for the freedom of religion clause of the first amendment of the Bill of Rights.

Teaching Tips:

"Do Now" Suggestion

Using this document and the Virginia Declaration of Rights have students create a chronological flow chart of ideas that led to the Bill of Rights.

Suggestion for Using this Resource as Part of a Lesson

Prior to the Revolution, the Anglican Church in America funded by taxes. Discuss why this was possible and how this changed after the Revolution. Ask students to identify which document ensures that churches can not be supported by tax dollars. Then read and discuss the origin of the separation of church and state, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.