It was pesident Franklin D. Roosevelt who took the first steps to reach racial equality, but they were not enought. Nevertheless, during the period of president Harry S. Truman great efforts were made in this direction. Truman established a committee on Civil Rights. This was not well seen by the southern Democrats who opposed firmly to the new civil rights. They decided to form a new party, called Dixiecrats, an extremely (racially) conservative party. They even intended to reach the White House, naming a presidential candidate in 1948, however, they did not successed.