The transformation of the racial views of Harry Truman

The racial attitudes of presidents of the United States tend both to reflec t and lend the ethnic opinions of the American people. For this reason, JBH E has systematically review ed the racial attitudes of past presidents. Her e Mle recount some of the words and decisions of Harry S Truman that reveal his opinion of the character and capabilities of Negro people. As the nation's thirty-third president, President Truman took the courageou s step of integrating the armed forces. He supported many causes favored by blacks. Yet Truman's racial sentiments were typical of the racial attitude s of the times in which he lived. He referred to the obstreperously powerfu l Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell as "that damned nigger preacher.".