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Executive Order 10833 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 10833—Transferring Title to Certain Lands at Sand Island, Territory of Hawaii, to the Territory of Hawaii

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Thursday, August 20, 1959
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5 min read (1,097 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 5 min read (1,097 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Subject to the terms, conditions, and reservations hereinafter set forth, title to the following-described tract of land at Sand Island, City and County of Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, being portions of the Sand Island Military Reservation and the Navy Harbor Entrance Control Post as at present constituted, and being also portions of the land described in section 203 of the Public Buildings Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 177), in paragraph (b) of Presidential Executive Order No. 6584 of February 6, 1934, and as Tract 1 in Presidential Executive Order No. 3358 of November 24, 1920, together with the improvements located thereon, is hereby transferred to the Territory of Hawaii.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

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 August 20, 1959, this order concerns Transferring Title to Certain Lands at Sand Island, Territory of Hawaii, to the Territory of Hawaii. Subject to the terms, conditions, and reservations hereinafter set forth, title to the following-described tract of land at Sand Island, City and County of Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, being portions of the Sand Island Military Reservation and the Navy Harbor Entrance Control Post as at present constituted, and being also portions of the land described in section 203 of the Public Buildings Act of 1949 (63 Stat.…

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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Subject to the terms, conditions, and reservations hereinafter set forth, title to the following-described tract of land at Sand Island, City and County of Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, being portions of the Sand Island Military Reservation and the Navy Harbor Entrance Control Post as at present constituted, and being also portions of the land described in section 203 of the Public Buildings Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 177), in paragraph (b) of Presidential Executive Order No. 6584 of February 6, 1934, and as Tract 1 in Presidential Executive Order No. 3358 of November 24, 1920, together with the improvements located thereon, is hereby transferred to the Territory of Hawaii.

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The transfer of the above-described land shall be subject to the following reservations, terms, and conditions: (a) A reservation of easements and improvements appurtenant thereto, in favor of the United States of America for all existing utilities over, under, and across the above-described tract of land appurtenant to the remaining lands owned by the United States of America, subject, however, to future relocation and removal of any and all such existing utilities to a more convenient or practical location by the Territory of Hawaii at its own cost, and provided that upon abandonment of any or all of such existing utilities, the easements reserved herein in favor of the United States of America shall thereby terminate and be of no…

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Pursuant to the terms of the act of August 25, 1958, the Territory of Hawaii shall relocate or procure the relocation on Sand Island of the Navy tower and other facilities appurtenant thereto on the southern shore of Sand Island.

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Until such relocation is completed, there are hereby reserved to the United States all such portions of the land hereinabove described as are needed for the full enjoyment of such facilities.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
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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
42 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

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

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

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

Moderate Friction

Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.

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
1,097
6,882 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.6
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

WHEREAS the act of August 25, 1958 (72 Stat. 850), authorizes the President of the United States, when he determines that land comprising any portion or portions of Sand Island Military Reservation and the Navy Harbor Entrance Control Post, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, including submerged lands therein, not to exceed in the aggregate 202 acres, is no longer required or is not required for military purposes, to transfer to the Territory of Hawaii, by Executive Order, all the right, title and interest of the United States in said land, together with the improvements thereon, and to grant nonexclusive easements over other land comprised within the Sand Island Military Reservation and the Navy Harbor Entrance Control Post in favor of the Territory of Hawaii which he shall deem necessary for the proper enjoyment of the premises transferred; and WHEREAS the hereinafter-described land is not required for military purposes;

NOW, THEREFORE, #now-therefore

by virtue of the authority vested in me by the above-mentioned act of August 25, 1958, it is ordered as follows: 1. Subject to the terms, conditions, and reservations hereinafter set forth, title to the following-described tract of land at Sand Island, City and County of Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, being portions of the Sand Island Military Reservation and the Navy Harbor Entrance Control Post as at present constituted, and being also portions of the land described in section 203 of the Public Buildings Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 177), in paragraph (b) of Presidential Executive Order No. 6584 of February 6, 1934, and as Tract 1 in Presidential Executive Order No. 3358 of November 24, 1920, together with the improvements located thereon, is hereby transferred to the Territory of Hawaii. Beginning at the west corner of this tract of land, on the southeasterly boundary of Honolulu International Airport (Governor's Executive Order 1016, dated April 12, 1943), and on the northwesterly boundary of the City and County of Honolulu's Sewage Treatment Plant (Governor's Executive Order 1188, dated February 5, 1947), the coordinates of said point of beginning referred to Government Survey Triangulation Station "United States Engineer, North Base" being 798.43 feet North and 4368.19 feet West, as shown on Government Survey Registered Map 4100, thence running by azimuths measured clockwise from true South: 1. 195°55' 1767.17 feet along Honolulu International Airport (Governor's Executive Order 1016); 2. 216°40' 174.27 feet along Honolulu International Airport (Governor's Executive Order 1016); 3. 302°28'30" 4233.08 feet along the remainder of Sand Island Military Reservation (being the remainders of Tract 1 of Presidential Executive Order 3358, the land described in Public Law 105, Chapter 218, 81st Congress, 1st Session, Section 203, and Tract "b" of Presidential Executive Order 6584); 4. Thence along the remainder of Sand Island Military Reservation (Remainder of Tract 1 of Presidential Executive Order 3358), on a curve to the right, with a radius of 425.00 feet, the chord azimuth and distance being: 316°44'15" 209.41 feet to a pipe in concrete, the true azimuth and distance from said pipe in concrete to Government Survey Triangulation Station "United States Engineer, North Base" being: 343°00'50" 221.95 feet; 5. 331°00' 1180.52 feet along the remainder of Sand Island Military Reservation (Remainder of Tract 1 of Presidential Executive Order 3358); 6. 26°55'40" 204.12 feet along the remainder of Sand Island Military Reservation (Remainder of Tract 1 of Presidential Executive Order 3358), along Department of Navy Parcel under Department of Army Permit Control Symbol 132-36, dated December 8, 1958, to a spike in concrete fence footing; 7. 26°55'40" 775.96 feet along the remainder of Sand Island Military Reservation (Remainder of Tract 1 of Presidential Executive Order 3358), to the seaward face of seawall; 8. 115°36' 1231.72 feet along seaward face of sea wall along highwater mark; 9. 122°02'05" 3153.90 feet along the remainder of Sand Island Military Reservation (Remainder of Tract 1 of Presidential Executive Order 3358); 10. 154°00'10" 292.52 feet along the City and County of Honolulu's Sewage Treatment Plant (Governor's Executive Order 1188); 11. 104°42'40" 382.57 feet along the City and County of Honolulu's Sewage Treatment Plant (Governor's Executive Order 1188); 12. 64°00'10" 165.91 feet along the City and County of Honolulu's Sewage Treatment Plant (Governor's Executive Order 1188) to the point of beginning and containing an AREA OF 202.00 ACRES. 2. The transfer of the above-described land shall be subject to the following reservations, terms, and conditions: (a) A reservation of easements and improvements appurtenant thereto, in favor of the United States of America for all existing utilities over, under, and across the above-described tract of land appurtenant to the remaining lands owned by the United States of America, subject, however, to future relocation and removal of any and all such existing utilities to a more convenient or practical location by the Territory of Hawaii at its own cost, and provided that upon abandonment of any or all of such existing utilities, the easements reserved herein in favor of the United States of America shall thereby terminate and be of no further force or effect with respect to those utilities which have been abandoned. (b) Pursuant to the terms of the act of August 25, 1958, the Territory of Hawaii shall relocate or procure the relocation on Sand Island of the Navy tower and other facilities appurtenant thereto on the southern shore of Sand Island. Until such relocation is completed, there are hereby reserved to the United States all such portions of the land hereinabove described as are needed for the full enjoyment of such facilities. (c) The land transferred by this order to the Territory of Hawaii shall be subject to all the laws, rules and regulations with respect to airport zoning which are now, or may hereafter be, in effect. (d) The Territory of Hawaii shall provide such rights of access and utility easements as are necessary to serve those portions of land retained by the United States on Sand Island. (e) The sale, lease, or other disposition of the lands transferred by this order shall be subject to the provisions of the act of August 25, 1958, with respect to the sale, lease, or other disposition of such lands. (f) The land transferred by this order shall be subject to such other provisions as are contained in the act of August 25, 1958. 3. Any lands transferred by this order which are now reserved or set aside under any Presidential Executive order, or which are under the jurisdiction and control of the United States Government are hereby withdrawn from the application of any such orders or from such jurisdiction and control. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

August 20, 1959.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 10,833 (Aug. 20, 1959), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10833-transferring-title-certain-lands-sand-island-territory-hawaii-the.