“Perhaps it takes a lifetime of experience to understand how much the Constitution means to our national life,” said President Harry Truman at the dedication of the new shrine for the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights at the National Archives Building in Washington DC, December 15, 1952. Listen to the full sound recording from the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum: https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/soundrecording-records/sr70-50-president-trumans-address-dedication-new

On July 26, 1948, Harry Truman gave the spoiler wing of his party a lesson in Presidential power. Nine days after the so-called "Dixiecrats" staged a revolt against his civil rights platform at the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Truman issued Executive Orders 9980 and 9981, officially desegregating the United States Armed Forces and all agencies of the federal government. 🎖️ Stream THE BLINDING OF ISAAC WOODARD on YouTube and the PBS App. https://bit.ly/46MRvPK | American Experience | PBS