★
Executive Orders Historical Archive
🎲
Cite
Executive Order 10387 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 10387—Specification of Laws from Which Certain Functions Authorized by the Mutual Security Act of 1951, as Amended, Shall Be Exempt

Harry S Truman Harry S Truman
•
Monday, August 25, 1952
•
3 min read (557 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (557 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

It is hereby determined that, to the extent hereinafter indicated, the performance of functions authorized by the said Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended (including the performance of functions authorized by the Act for International Development, as amended, the Institute of Inter-American Affairs Act, as amended, and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, as amended), the lettered subdivisions of sections 1, 2, and 3 of this order will further the purposes of the said Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Private Citizens & Property Owners Foreign Nations & International Entities
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President Harry S Truman on August 25, 1952, this order concerns Specification of Laws from Which Certain Functions Authorized by the Mutual Security Act of 1951, as Amended, Shall Be Exempt. It is hereby determined that, to the extent hereinafter indicated, the performance of functions authorized by the said Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended (including the performance of functions authorized by the Act for International Development, as amended, the Institute of Inter-American Affairs Act, as amended, and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, as amended), the lettered subdivisions of sections…

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 determined that, to the extent hereinafter indicated, the performance of functions authorized by the said Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended (including the performance of functions authorized by the Act for International Development, as amended, the Institute of Inter-American Affairs Act, as amended, and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, as amended), the lettered subdivisions of sections 1, 2, and 3 of this order will further the purposes of the said Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended.

▪

With respect to functions authorized by section 503 (b) of the Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended (22 U.S.C. 1654 (b), the Act for International Development, as amended (22 U.S.C. 1557 et seq.), and the Institute of Inter-American Affairs Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 281 et seq.): (a) The act of March 26, 1934, c. 90, 48 Stat. 500, as amended (15 U.S.C. 616a).

▪

Section 3648 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, 60 Stat. 809 (31 U.S.C. 529).

▪

Section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (41 U.S.C. 5).

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Uncategorized
🏛️

The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
📐

Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
28 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
557
3,076 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
6.3
Grade 6
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 532 of the Mutual Security Act of 1951, as added by section 7 (m) of the Mutual Security Act of 1952 (Public Law 400, approved June 20, 1952, 66 Stat. 146), it is hereby determined that, to the extent hereinafter indicated, the performance of functions authorized by the said Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended (including the performance of functions authorized by the Act for International Development, as amended, the Institute of Inter-American Affairs Act, as amended, and the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, as amended), the lettered subdivisions of sections 1, 2, and 3 of this order will further the purposes of the said Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended. SECTION 1. With respect to functions authorized by section 503 (b) of the Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended (22 U.S.C. 1654 (b), the Act for International Development, as amended (22 U.S.C. 1557 et seq.), and the Institute of Inter-American Affairs Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 281 et seq.): (a) The act of March 26, 1934, c. 90, 48 Stat. 500, as amended (15 U.S.C. 616a). (b) Section 3648 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, 60 Stat. 809 (31 U.S.C. 529). (c) Section 305 of the act of June 30, 1949 (the Federal Property and Administrative Service Act of 1949), c. 288, 63 Stat. 396 (41 U.S.C. 255). (d) Section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (41 U.S.C. 5). (e) Section 3710 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 8). (f) Section 2 of the act of March 3, 1933, c. 212, 47 stat. 1520 (41 U.S.C. 10a). (g) Section 3735 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 13). (h) Section 901 of the act of June 29, 1936, c. 858, 49 Stat. 2015 (46 U.S.C. 1241). SEC. 2. With respect to purchases authorized to be made outside the continental limits of the United States under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, as amended (22 U.S.C. 1571 et seq.), sections 503 (b) and 506 of the Mutual Security Act of 1951, as amended, the Act for International Development, as amended, and the Institute of Inter-American Affairs Act, as amended: (a) Section 10 (1) of the act of July 2, 1926, c. 721, 44 Stat. 787, as amended (10 U.S.C. 310 (1)). (b) Section 4 (c) of the act of February 19, 1948 (the Armed Services Procurement Act of 1947), c. 65, 62 Stat. 23, as amended, 65 Stat. 700 (41 U.S.C. 153 (c)). (c) Section 304 (c) of the act of June 30, 1949 (the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949), c. 288, 63 Stat. 395, as amended, 65 Stat. 700 (41 U.S.C. 254 (c). (d) Section 1301 of the act of March 27, 1942 9the Second War Powers Act, 1942), c. 199, 56 Stat. 185 (50 U.S.C. App. 643). SEC. 3 With respect to functions performed in Burma and Indonesia under the Act for International Development, as amended: (a) Section 5 (c) (2) of the act of July 16, 1914, c. 141, 38 Stat. 508, as amended, 60 Stat. 810 (5 U.S.C. 78 (c) (2)). This order supersedes Executive Order No. 9943 of April 9, 1948, 13 F.R. 1975, entitled "Providing for Carrying out the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948". HARRY S. TRUMAN

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

August 25, 1952

🔗

Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

Supersedes Executive Order 10519—Specification of Laws From Which Functions Authorized by Mutual Security Act of 1951, as Amended, Shall be Exempt
Dwight D. Eisenhower • 1954-03-05
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 10,387 (Aug. 25, 1952), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10387-specification-laws-from-which-certain-functions-authorized-the.