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Executive Order 11101 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations

Executive Order 11101—Creating an Emergency Board to Investigate Disputes Between the Carriers Represented by the Eastern, Western, and Southwestern Carriers' Conference Committees and Certain of Their Employees

John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy
•
Wednesday, April 3, 1963
•
6 min read (1,242 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 6 min read (1,242 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate these disputes.

View all 3 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Branch Departments General Body of the People
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 John F. Kennedy on April 3, 1963, this order concerns Creating an Emergency Board to Investigate Disputes Between the Carriers Represented by the Eastern, Western, and Southwestern Carriers' Conference Committees and Certain of Their Employees. I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate these disputes. No member of the board shall be pecuniarily, or otherwise interested in any organization of railroad employees or any carrier. The board shall report its findings to the President with respect to the disputes within thirty days from the date of this order.

Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate these disputes.

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The board shall report its findings to the President with respect to the disputes within thirty days from the date of this order.

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As provided by section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, from this date and for thirty days after the board has made its report to the President, no change, except by agreement, shall be made by the carriers represented by the Eastern, Western, and Southeastern Carriers' Conference Committees, or by their employees, in the conditions out of which the disputes arose.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Branch Departments 🏛️ General Body of the People

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Infrastructure & Transportation 🏷️ Labor & Employment
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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 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
30 / 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

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

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
1,242
8,684 characters
Estimated Read Time
6 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
23.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

WHEREAS disputes exist between the carriers represented by the Eastern, Western, and Southeastern Carriers' Conference Committees, designated in List A attached hereto and made a part hereof and certain of their employees represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Order of Railway Conductor's and Brakemen, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and the Switchmen's Union of North America, labor organizations; and WHEREAS these disputes have not heretofore been adjusted under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended: and WHEREAS these disputes, in the judgment of the National Mediation Board, threaten substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive a section of the country of essential transportation service:

NOW, THEREFORE, #now-therefore

by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended (45 U.S.C. 160), I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate these disputes. No member of the board shall be pecuniarily, or otherwise interested in any organization of railroad employees or any carrier. The board shall report its findings to the President with respect to the disputes within thirty days from the date of this order. As provided by section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, from this date and for thirty days after the board has made its report to the President, no change, except by agreement, shall be made by the carriers represented by the Eastern, Western, and Southeastern Carriers' Conference Committees, or by their employees, in the conditions out of which the disputes arose. JOHN F. KENNEDY

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

April 3, 1963 LIST A EASTERN RAILROADS Akron & Barberton Belt Railroad Akron, Canton & Youngstown Railroad Ann Arbor Railroad Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company Baltimore and Ohio-Chicago Terminal Staten Island Rapid Transit Strouds Creek & Muddlety Railroad Curtis Bay Railroad Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad Company Boston & Maine Railroad Company Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal Buffalo Creek Railroad Bush Terminal Company Canadian National Railways Canadian National Railway-Lines in New England United States & Canada Railroad Company Champlain & St. Lawrence Railway St. Clair Tunnel Company Central Railroad of New Jersey New York & Long Branch Railroad Central Vermont Railway Chicago Union Station Company Cincinnati Union Terminal Company Delaware & Hudson Railroad Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Detroit & Toledo Shore Line Railroad Detroit and Mackinac Railway Company Detroit Terminal Railroad Co. Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad Erie Railroad Company Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company Greenwich & Johnsonville Railway Company Hoboken Shore Railroad Company Indianapolis Union Railway Company Lake Terminal Railroad Company Lehigh & Hudson River Railway Company Lehigh & New England Railroad Company Lehigh Valley Railroad Company Long Island Railroad Company Maine Central Railroad Company Portland Terminal Company McKeesport Connecting Railroad Monon Railroad Monongahela Railway Company Montour Railroad Youngstown & Southern Railroad Newburgh & South Shore Railway Company New York Central System New York Central Railroad Eastern & New York Districts B&A Div. of Eastern District Western District Northern District Southern District Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Lake Erie & Eastern Railroad Chicago River & Indiana Railroad Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Company Cleveland Union Terminals New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company New York Dock Railway New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Union Freight (Boston ) New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad Company Pennsylvania Railroad Company Baltimore & Eastern Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway Company Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny Railway Company Reading Company Rutland Railway Corporation Toledo Terminal Railroad Upper Merion & Plymouth Railroad Company Washington Terminal Company Western Maryland Railway Youngstown & Northern Railroad Company LIST A WESTERN RAILROADS Alton and Southern Railroad Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Panhandle & Santa Fe Railway Bauxite & Northern Railway Belt Railway Company of Chicago The Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway Cantos Prairie Railroad Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Chicago & Illinois Midland Railway Chicago and North Western Railway including former C.St.P.M.&O. and L&M Railroads Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Chicago, Great Western Railway Chicago, Great Western Railway including South St. Paul Terminal Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad--Lines East Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad--Lines West Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Chicago Short Line Railway Chicago, West Pullman & Southern Railroad Colorado and Southern Railway Davenport, Rock Island and North Western Railway Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Des Moines Union Railway Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad Duluth Union Depot & Transfer Company Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Railway East St. Louis Junction Railroad Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Ft. Worth and Denver Railway Joint Texas Division of CRI&P Railroad and Ft. W&D Railway Galveston, Houston & Henderson Railroad Great Northern Railway Green Bay & Western Railroad Kewaunee, Green Bay & Western Railroad Houston Belt & Terminal Railway Illinois Central Railroad Illinois Northern Railway Illinois Terminal Railroad Kansas City Southern Railway, The Arkansas Western Railway, The Kansas City Terminal Railway Kansas, Oklahoma & Gulf Railway Midland Valley Railroad Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway King Street Passenger Station (Seattle) Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad Lake Superior Terminal & Transfer Railway Longview, Portland & Northern Railway Los Angeles Junction Railway Louisiana & Arkansas Railway Manufacturers Railway Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway, The Minneapolis Ind. Railway Railroad Transfer Company of the City of Minneapolis Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Railway Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad Minnesota, Dakota & Western Railroad Minnesota Transfer Railway, The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Missouri Pacific Railroad Missouri-Illinois Railroad New Orleans & Lower Coast Railroad New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal Northern Pacific Railway Northern Pacific Terminal Company of Oregon Northwestern Pacific Railroad Ogden Union Railway and Depot Company, The Oregon, California & Western Railway Pacific Coast Railroad Peoria and Pekin Union Railway Fort Terminal Railroad Association St. Joseph Terminal Railroad St. Louis-San Francisco Railway St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway St. Louis Southwestern Railway St. Paul Union Depot Company, The San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway Sioux City Terminal Railway Southern Pacific Company (Pacific Lines) excluding former El Paso & Southwestern System and Nogales, Arizona, yard. Southern Pacific Company (Pacific Lines) former E1 Paso & Southwestern System Southern Pacific Company (Pacific Lines) Nogales, Arizona, yard Spokane International Railroad Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway Oregon Trunk Railway Oregon Electric Railway Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis Texas and New Orleans Railroad Texas and Pacific Railway, The Abilene & Southern Railway Ft. Worth Belt Railway Texas-New Mexico Railway Texas Short Line Railway Weatherford, Mineral Wells & Northwestern Railway, The Texas Mexican Railway, The Texas-Pacific-Missouri Pacific Terminal Railroad of New Orleans Toledo Peoria & Western Railroad Union Pacific Railroad Union Railway Company ( Memphis ) Union Terminal Company, The (Dalles) Wabash Railroad (Lines West ) Wabash Railroad (Lines East ) Western Pacific Railroad, The Wichita Terminal Association, The LIST A SOUTHEASTERN RAILROADS Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Atlanta & West Point Railroad Western Railway of Alabama Atlanta Joint Terminals Birmingham Southern Railroad Company Central of Georgia Railway Company Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Clinchfield Railroad Florida East Coast Railway Fort Street Union Depot Georgia Railroad Company Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad Jacksonville Terminal Company Kentucky & Indiana Terminal Railroad Louisville & Nashville Railroad Memphis Union Station Company Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Norfolk Southern Railway Company Norfolk & Western Railway Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad Company Savannah Union Station Company Seaboard Air Line Railway Company Tennessee Central Railway

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 11,101 (Apr. 3, 1963), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11101-creating-emergency-board-investigate-disputes-between-the-carriers.