Answer: D. The contradictions between the principle and practice of freedom in the actual status of African-Americans came to the forefront during the war.
African-American during President Roosevelt and Hitler’s era didn’t enjoy true freedom and after Roosevelt gave a State of the Union speech stating America’s need to help Europe in the fight against the tyranny of Hitler, it led to a civil rights movement which brought heightened attention to matters relating to race.
With this, Roosevelt issued an executive order prohibiting the discrimination of workers in the defense sector due to race, color, or national origin. African-American soldiers served exceptionally well in the war. Roughly 4,000 blacks served diligently in the war and at the end of the war, up to 1.2 million blacks were already part of the US army. Although segregation still existed, black soldiers were pioneers of the US success in the war. The black soldiers returned home and were still subject to a life of injustice and bigotry and this led to them leading the postwar civil rights charge.