idgway began to accelerate integration
in the forces under his command. He did this partly as a matter
of philosophy and partly from necessity. The Army needed the fullest and
most efficient use of the few troops available in order to stem the flow
of a much larger communist force into South Korea. This integration
proceeded very well, and when he was put in charge of all forces in the
Far East, he asked the Defense Department for permission to integrate all
of the forces in the area. Within three months, the extent of
integration in the Armed Forces jumped from nine percent to thirty
percent. While Afro-Americans were pleased, they were also convinced
that it had been done more from the pressure of world opinion than from a
genuine humanitarian conscience.

During this period, the Federal Government took a more active role in
several other ways in regard to improving race relations. How much of
this action sprang from internal motivation and how much resulted from
the pressure of world opinion is a matter of conjecture. In any case, the
Truman Administration deliberately created an atmosphere favorable to
changing race relations within America. In 1946 Truman appointed a
comittee on civil rights which, after intensive study, published its
report, To Secure These Rights.

The report set forth that the Federal Government had the duty to act in
order to safeguard civil rights when local or state governments either
could not or did not take such action. The comittee recommended enlarging
the size and powers of the civil rights section of the Justice Department
and also recommended that the F.B.I. increase its civil rights activity.
The threat of federal intervention in state racial policies led to a
revolt by several Southern Senators within the Democratic Party. In 1948
they formed the Dixiecrat Party and refused to support many of the
policies and candidates of the Democratic Party. Truman also appointed a
comittee to study higher education in America, and its report recommended
an end to discrimination in colleges and universities. In 1948 Truman
issued an executive order aimed at achieving fair employment within
government service. He also continued the practice of attacking
discrimination within industries working under government contracts. In
1948 the Supreme Court declared that restrictive covenants in housing
were unconstitutional. Many state and local governments across the
country also took action against d