- Executive Order 9066: Issued on February 19, 1942, it authorized the Secretary of War to designate military areas from which any or all persons could be excluded. This led to the internment of over 110,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were American citizens, in concentration camps for the duration of the war.
- Executive Order 8802: Issued on June 25, 1941, it created the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) with the power to investigate complaints of discrimination in the defense industry based on race, creed, color, or national origin. The FEPC was the first federal agency tasked with addressing employment discrimination and helped pave the way for broader civil rights legislation in the years following the war.