Which president issued Executive Order 8802?

• A. Franklin D. Roosevelt
• B. Woodrow Wilson
• C. Harry S. Truman
• D. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Answer: (A)

Executive action used to address racial discrimination in the workplace during wartime is being tested here. Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 in 1941, directing that employment practices in the defense industry and in government procurement be free from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin. It also created the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) to monitor and enforce the order.

This move was significant because it was one of the first times the federal government took a concrete stand against workplace discrimination in a major national effort, driven in part by pressure from civil rights leaders and the urgency of mobilizing for World War II. By opening up defense-related jobs to more workers and setting up a mechanism to enforce the policy, the order laid an important groundwork for later civil rights advances, including moves toward desegregation in the armed forces and broader equal employment protections.