How did President Harry Truman further the cause of civil rights?. O By supporting the efforts of Martin Luther King Jr. O By starting the war on poverty O By proposing legislation to guarantee voting rights. O By issuing an executive order integrating the armed forces.

President Harry Truman furthered the cause of civil rights by issuing an executive order integrating the armed forces. The specific executive order was Order 9981, issued on July 26, 1948, which declared an official policy of desegregation in the U.S. military. This action was a significant stride toward civil rights, as it mandated equality of treatment and opportunity in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin, and it set the stage for more extensive civil rights reforms that were to follow in subsequent decades.

The civil rights movement in the United States gained momentum in the mid-20th century, aiming to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans and secure legal recognition and federal protection of the citizenship rights enumerated in the Constitution and federal law. President Truman's decision to desegregate the armed forces was a noteworthy event because it addressed racial discrimination in the military, a federal institution, and therefore set a precedent for future government action on civil rights.

This paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, among other legislation, and the efforts of civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who emerged as a prominent figure in the movement in the mid-1950s. Moreover, Truman's action also reflected changing attitudes in American society and illustrated the increasing power and influence of the civil rights movement. It's important for students to remember that civil rights achievements were the result of decades of effort by activists, community leaders, and supportive government figures who worked tirelessly to ensure that the principles upon which the United States was founded were extended to all its citizens.