Executive Order 10013 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 10013—Establishing the President's Committee on Religious and Moral Welfare and Character Guidance in the Armed Forces

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Wednesday, October 27, 1948

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2 min read (318 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Harry S Truman on 1948-10-27, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Establishing the President's Committee on Religious and Moral Welfare and Character Guidance in the Armed Forces." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Government to encourage and promote the religious, moral, and recreational welfare and character guidance of persons in the armed forces and thereby to enhance the military preparedness and security of the Nation.

▪ The President shall designate one of the members of the Committee as Chairman thereof.

▪ The National Military Establishment and the Federal Security Agency shall defray such necessary expenses of the Committee as may be authorized by law, including section 214 of the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1946 (59 Stat 134, 31 US.C.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions

Total Words

318

1,968 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

21.1

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 10013, Harry S Truman (Oct 27, 1948). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10013-establishing-the-presidents-committee-religious-and-moral-welfare.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the armed forces, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Government to encourage and promote the religious, moral, and recreational welfare and character guidance of persons in the armed forces and thereby to enhance the military preparedness and security of the Nation. 2. There is hereby established the President's Committee on Religious and Moral Welfare and Character Guidance in the Armed Forces, which shall be composed of one representative of the National Military Establishment designated by the Secretary of Defense, one representative of the Federal Security Agency designated by the Federal Security Administrator, and not less than seven other members who shall be appointed by the President. The President shall designate one of the members of the Committee as Chairman thereof. 3. The Committee shall consider means of effectuating the policy set forth in paragraph 1 hereof through maximum feasible reliance upon facilities and services now existing in the fields of work concerned, confer and advise with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force with respect to such means, appraise the work being done toward the effectuation of the said policy, and make such recommendations to the President and the said Secretaries as it shall deem appropriate. 4. Agencies of the Government are requested to cooperate with the Committee and to furnish it such available information as it may require for the performance of its duties. 5. The National Military Establishment and the Federal Security Agency shall defray such necessary expenses of the Committee as may be authorized by law, including section 214 of the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1946 (59 Stat 134, 31 US.C. 691). HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, October 27, 1948