Is it fair Mr. President, to employ only those who happen to be of one racial extraction? I do not find anything in the Constitution which says that … - Dennis Chavez

Every great crisis in American history has thus far had the moral result of increased protection and increased liberty for the individual. This country's first great crisis-the American Revolution-gave us political and religious independence. The crisis which was the Civil War gave us freedom from bondage for all menand women. Out of the crisis of the First World War came women's suffrage. Out of this World War II, with all its terrifying implications, comes: What?

We have just fought a great war to a successful conclusion. It would be a national disaster and humiliation if those who have fought valiantly abroad to defend the freedom and dignity of the individual against racial barbarism should now come home to find that the bringing of peace meant a wiping out of the antidiscrimination policy that we achieved in wartime. Today we stand embarked upon the task of reconversion for peace. Shall we reconvert to racial prejudice, national bigotry, and religious discrimination, or shall we reconvert to full peacetime employment based on the American principle of equality of human rights?

The main point is that fair-employment practices should be adopted in this country. What with fair-employment practices? We love to talk about liberality and about saving the world. We sent our boys to Europe, to China, and to the Pacific. The only decoration which thousands of them received was a white cross surmounting a grave.