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Executive Order 10773 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 10773—Delegating and Transferring Certain Functions and Affairs to the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower
•
Tuesday, July 1, 1958
•
6 min read (1,168 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 6 min read (1,168 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

There are hereby delegated to the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization, with power of redelegation by him, all functions transferred to the President by the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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 Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 1, 1958, this order concerns Delegating and Transferring Certain Functions and Affairs to the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization. The "Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization" and the "Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization", referred to in this order, are the Office of that name and the officer with that title, respectively, provided for in Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958. SEC. 2.

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

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There are hereby delegated to the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization, with power of redelegation by him, all functions transferred to the President by the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958.

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Subject to the provisions of section 7 of this order, all functions of the President of the United States heretofore delegated or assigned to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization, the Office of Defense Mobilization, the Federal Civil Defense Administrator (or the Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration), or the Federal Civil Defense Administration are, to the extent that those delegations or assignments were in effect June 30, 1958, redelegated or reassigned, as the case may be, to the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization.

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Except in instances wherein the provisions concerned are for any reason inapplicable as of the effective date of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958: (a) Each reference in any prior Executive order to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization and each reference in any prior Executive order to the Federal Civil Defense Administrator (or to the Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration) is hereby amended to refer to the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization.

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Each reference in any prior Executive order to the Office of Defense Mobilization and each reference in any prior Executive order to the Federal Civil Defense Administration is hereby amended to refer to the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Government Operations & Civil Service
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

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

⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
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"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)

Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.

Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
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
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

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

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
52 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

High Friction

Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.

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

Moderate Friction

The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.

Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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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
1,168
7,060 characters
Estimated Read Time
6 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
10.5
High School
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 as President of the United States, including authority vested in me by the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 and including also authority vested in me by provisions of law cited in the preambles of, or relied upon in connection with the issuance of, orders amended by this order, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The "Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization" and the "Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization", referred to in this order, are the Office of that name and the officer with that title, respectively, provided for in Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958. SEC. 2. (a) There are hereby delegated to the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization, with power of redelegation by him, all functions transferred to the President by the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958. (b) Subject to the provisions of section 7 of this order, all functions of the President of the United States heretofore delegated or assigned to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization, the Office of Defense Mobilization, the Federal Civil Defense Administrator (or the Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration), or the Federal Civil Defense Administration are, to the extent that those delegations or assignments were in effect June 30, 1958, redelegated or reassigned, as the case may be, to the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization. SEC. 3. Except in instances wherein the provisions concerned are for any reason inapplicable as of the effective date of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958: (a) Each reference in any prior Executive order to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization and each reference in any prior Executive order to the Federal Civil Defense Administrator (or to the Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration) is hereby amended to refer to the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization. (b) Each reference in any prior Executive order to the Office of Defense Mobilization and each reference in any prior Executive order to the Federal Civil Defense Administration is hereby amended to refer to the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization. Sze. 4. Without limiting the application of section 3 of this order, the amendments made thereby shall apply, subject to the provisions of section 3 of this order: (a) To references to the Federal Civil Defense Administrator (or to the Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration) and to references to the Federal Civil Defense Administration in the following-designated Executive orders, including any Executive orders amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto: (1) Executive Order No. 10242 of May 8, 1951. (2) Executive Order No. 10260 of June 27, 1951. (3) Executive Order No. 10346 of April 17, 1952. (4) Executive Order No. 10421 of December 31, 1952. (5) Executive Order No. 10427 of January 16, 1953. (6) Executive Order No. 10529 of April 22, 1954. (7) Executive Order No. 10737 of October 29, 1957. (b) To references to the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization and to references to the Office of Defense Mobilization in the following-designated Executive orders, including any Executive order amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto: (1) Executive Order No. 10219 of February 28, 1951. (2) Executive Order No. 10296 of October 2, 1951. (3) Executive Order No. 10312 of December 10, 1951. (4) Executive Order No. 10346 of April 17, 1952. (5) Executive Order No. 10421 of December 31, 1952. (6) Executive Order No. 10460 of June 16, 1953. (7) Executive Order No. 10480 of August 14, 1953, (except section 102). (8) Executive Order No. 10494 of October 14, 1953. (9) Executive Order No. 10524 of March 31, 1954. (10) Executive Order No. 10539 of June 22, 1954. (11) Executive Order No. 10560 of September 9, 1954. (12) Executive Order No. 10590 of January 18, 1955. (13) Executive Order No. 10601 of March 21, 1955. (14) Executive Order No. 10634 of August 25, 1955. (15) Executive Order No. 10638 of October 10, 1955. (16) Executive Order No. 10655 of January 28, 1956. (17) Executive Order No. 10660 of February 15, 1956. (18) Executive Order No. 10700 of February 25, 1957. (19) Executive Order No. 10705 of April 17, 1957. SEC. 5. Each reference in Executive Order No. 10737 of October 29, 1957, to a Regional Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration is hereby amended to refer to a Regional Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization. SEC. 6. (a) There is hereby established in the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization the Defense and Civilian Mobilization Board. The Board shall be composed of the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization, who shall be the chairman of the Board, and of the heads of such executive departments and agencies of the Government as may be designated, with their consent, from time to time by the Director. (b) The Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization may from time to time establish subsidiary units of the Board and assign suitable names thereto. The Director and the heads of any executive departments and agencies may be designated, with their consent, as members of such units. The Director shall be the chairman of any subsidiary unit of which he is a member and he shall designate the chairman of any other subsidiary unit from among the members thereof. (c) The Board established by this section, and each subsidiary unit thereof established under this section, shall advise the Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization with respect to matters relating to his responsibilities as he shall request. SEC. 7. The following are hereby revoked: (1) Executive Order No. 10224 of March 15, 1951. (2) Executive Order No. 10276 of July 31, 1951. (3) Executive Order No. 10293 of September 27, 1951. (4) Executive Order No. 10350 of May 14, 1952. (5) Executive Order No. 10475 of July 31, 1953. (6) Section 102 of Executive Order No. 10480 of August 14, 1953. (7) Executive Order No. 10611 of May 11, 1955. SEC. 8. This order shall not operate to terminate or impair any regulation, ruling, order, directive, certificate, determination, authorization, contract, agreement, or other action, issued, undertaken, or entered into with respect to any function affected by the provisions of sections 2, 3, or 4 of this order; nor shall this order affect the validity or force of anything heretofore done in connection with any such function. Any of the instruments referred to in this section may be hereafter amended, modified, or revoked, by appropriate authority. SEC. 9. The Director of the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization is hereby authorized to issue such regulations as he may deem necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this order. SEC. 10. The provisions of this order shall be effective as of July 1, 1958, the effective date of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

July 1, 1958.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (6)

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

References Executive Order 11051—Prescribing Responsibilities of the Office of Emergency Planning in the Executive Office of the President
John F. Kennedy • 1962-09-27
Amends Executive Order 10958—Delegating Functions With Respect to Civil Defense Stockpiles of Medical Supplies and Equipment and Food
John F. Kennedy • 1961-08-14
Amends Executive Order 10952—Assigning Civil Defense Responsibilities to the Secretary of Defense and Others
John F. Kennedy • 1961-07-20
Amends Executive Order 10902—Providing for the Issuance of Emergency Preparedness Orders by the Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization
Dwight D. Eisenhower • 1961-01-09
Amends Executive Order 10838—Further Amendment of Executive Order 10700, as Amended, Providing for the Operations Coordinating Board
Dwight D. Eisenhower • 1959-09-16
References Executive Order 10782—Amending Executive Order No. 10773 of July 1, 1958, Relating to Civil and Defense Mobilization
Dwight D. Eisenhower • 1958-09-06
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 10,773 (July 1, 1958), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10773-delegating-and-transferring-certain-functions-and-affairs-the-office.