Woodrow Wilson Segregates the Federal Civil Service, Reversing Reconstruction Gains

President Wilson moved to segregate the federal civil service after promising Black voters fair treatment during his 1912 campaign. Segregated offices, cafeterias, and restrooms were implemented throughout the federal government. Black federal workers who had held integrated positions since Reconstruction were demoted or fired. When civil rights leader Monroe Trotter confronted Wilson at the White House, Wilson dismissed him angrily.