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Executive Order 10869 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process

Executive Order 10869—Amendment of Civil Service Rule II, as Prescribed by Executive Order No. 10577 of November 22, 1954

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower
•
Wednesday, March 9, 1960
•
2 min read (378 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (378 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

1 of Civil Service Rule H, as prescribed by Executive Order No. 10577 of November 22, 1954, is hereby amended by adding thereto a new subsection (c) reading as follows: "(c) Whenever the Civil Service Commission (1) is unable to certify a sufficient number of names to permit the appointing officer to consider three eligibles for appointment to a fourth-class postmaster position in accordance with the regular procedure, or (2) finds that a particular rate of compensation for fourth-class postmaster positions is too low to warrant regular competitive examinations for such positions, it may authorize appointment to any such position or positions in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed by the Commission.

View all 3 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
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 March 9, 1960, this order concerns Amendment of Civil Service Rule II, as Prescribed by Executive Order No. 10577 of November 22, 1954. Section 2.1 of Civil Service Rule H, as prescribed by Executive Order No. 10577 of November 22, 1954, is hereby amended by adding thereto a new subsection (c) reading as follows: "(c) Whenever the Civil Service Commission (1) is unable to certify a sufficient number of names to permit the appointing officer to consider three eligibles for appointment to a fourth-class postmaster position in accordance with the…

Constitutional Assessment: Evaluated against the Fifth Amendment, this action touches upon property or economic rights. An early statesman would insist upon strict adherence to due process of law and the constitutional guarantee that private holdings shall not be encumbered or taken for public purposes without just compensation and lawful process.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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1 of Civil Service Rule H, as prescribed by Executive Order No. 10577 of November 22, 1954, is hereby amended by adding thereto a new subsection (c) reading as follows: "(c) Whenever the Civil Service Commission (1) is unable to certify a sufficient number of names to permit the appointing officer to consider three eligibles for appointment to a fourth-class postmaster position in accordance with the regular procedure, or (2) finds that a particular rate of compensation for fourth-class postmaster positions is too low to warrant regular competitive examinations for such positions, it may authorize appointment to any such position or positions in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed by the Commission.

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Persons appointed under this subsection may acquire competitive status subject to satisfactory completion of a probationary period prescribed by the Commission" SEC. 2.

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The following-designated Executive orders and regulations are hereby revoked: Executive Order No. 982 of November 30, 1908; Executive Order No. 1624 of October 15, 1912; the regulations approved by the President on November 25, 1912, governing the appointment of postmasters of the fourth class; Executive Order No. 1776 of May 7, 1913; Executive Order No. 1778 of May 7, 1913; Executive Order No. 2119 of January 12, 1915; Executive Order No. 4124 of January 12, 1925; and Executive Order No. 10337 Of April 3, 1952.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ 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)
§

"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

"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)

Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.

Hamiltonian Stance: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)

George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.

Anti-Federalist Stance: High Bill of Rights Scrutiny
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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
47 / 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

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

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
378
2,299 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
11.9
High School
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

WHEREAS the appointment of postmasters to fourth-class post offices is controlled in part by regulations approved by the President on November 25, 1912, as amended by Executive Orders No. 1778 of May 7, 1913, No. 4124 of January 12, 1925, No. 9769 of August 14, 1946, No. 10017 of November 10, 1948, and No. 10337 of April 3, 1952; and WHEREAS it is in the interest of efficiency of operation that the regulations governing the appointment of postmasters of the fourth class be revised and incorporated into the Civil Service Rules as hereinafter set forth:

NOW, THEREFORE, #now-therefore

by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1753 of the Revised Statutes (5 U.S.C. 631), by the Civil Service Act of January 16, 1883 (22 Stat. 403), and by section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1.

Section 2. #sec-2

1 of Civil Service Rule H, as prescribed by Executive Order No. 10577 of November 22, 1954, is hereby amended by adding thereto a new subsection (c) reading as follows: "(c) Whenever the Civil Service Commission (1) is unable to certify a sufficient number of names to permit the appointing officer to consider three eligibles for appointment to a fourth-class postmaster position in accordance with the regular procedure, or (2) finds that a particular rate of compensation for fourth-class postmaster positions is too low to warrant regular competitive examinations for such positions, it may authorize appointment to any such position or positions in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed by the Commission. Persons appointed under this subsection may acquire competitive status subject to satisfactory completion of a probationary period prescribed by the Commission" SEC. 2. The following-designated Executive orders and regulations are hereby revoked: Executive Order No. 982 of November 30, 1908; Executive Order No. 1624 of October 15, 1912; the regulations approved by the President on November 25, 1912, governing the appointment of postmasters of the fourth class; Executive Order No. 1776 of May 7, 1913; Executive Order No. 1778 of May 7, 1913; Executive Order No. 2119 of January 12, 1915; Executive Order No. 4124 of January 12, 1925; and Executive Order No. 10337 Of April 3, 1952. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

March 9, 1960.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 10,869 (Mar. 9, 1960), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10869-amendment-civil-service-rule-ii-prescribed-executive-order-no-10577.