Question

What step did President Truman take to end segregation? A. He declared segregation in schools to be unconstitutional. B. He integrated the armed services. C. He banned the use of literacy tests and poll taxes. D. all of the above

Answer 1

Let's step through this one:

(A) doesn't seem right because while Truman was against segregation, the Supreme Court would only later strike down "seperate but equal" in the "Brown vs. the Board of Education" ruling in 1954 after his administration. The banning of literacy tests and poll taxes in (C) also occurred after his presidency. Knowing that, (D) can't work, either.

So that leaves the only answer as (B), integrating the armed services. It was also notable that a sitting President issued this as an Executive Order to foster civil rights reform, completely avoiding debate in Congress where there was quite a bit of support for segregation.