Executive Order 9808 established the President's committe on civil rights

President Harry S. Truman to issued Executive Order 9808 which set up a committee to study the protection of civil rights in the United States.

WHEREAS the preservation of civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution is essential to domestic transquility, national security, the general welfare, and the continued existence of our free institutions; and

WHEREAS the action of individuals who take the law into their own hands and inflict summary punishment and wreak personal vengeance is subversive of our democratic system of law enforcement and public criminal justice, and gravely threatens our form of government; and

WHEREAS it is essential that all possible steps be taken to safeguard our civil rights