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Executive Order 11391 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 11391—Amending the Selective Service Regulations

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson
•
Wednesday, January 24, 1968
•
2 min read (467 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (467 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

I hereby prescribe the following amendments of the Selective Service Regulations prescribed by Executive Orders No. 10344 of April 17, 1952, No. 10594 of January 31, 1955, and No. 10837 of September 14, 1959, and constituting portions of Part 1655—Registration of United States Citizens Outside of the United States and Classification of Such Registrants, of Chapter XVI of Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations: 1.

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 Sovereign State Governments & Localities 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 Lyndon B. Johnson on January 24, 1968, this order concerns Amending the Selective Service Regulations. I hereby prescribe the following amendments of the Selective Service Regulations prescribed by Executive Orders No. 10344 of April 17, 1952, No. 10594 of January 31, 1955, and No. 10837 of September 14, 1959, and constituting portions of Part 1655—Registration of United States Citizens Outside of the United States and Classification of Such Registrants, of Chapter XVI of Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations…

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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I hereby prescribe the following amendments of the Selective Service Regulations prescribed by Executive Orders No. 10344 of April 17, 1952, No. 10594 of January 31, 1955, and No. 10837 of September 14, 1959, and constituting portions of Part 1655—Registration of United States Citizens Outside of the United States and Classification of Such Registrants, of Chapter XVI of Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations: 1.

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Subparagraph (4) of paragraph (b) of section 1655.6, Records to be Completed by Local Board Receiving Registration Questionnaire—Foreign (SSS Form 50) and Assignment of Selective Service Number, is amended to read as follows: "(4) Mail the completed Registration Certificate (SSS Form 2) to the registrant at his present mailing address as given on line 5 of the Registration Questionnaire—Foreign (SSS Form 50) if such address is a military post office (APO or FPO), or Canada or Mexico; however, if such mailing address is outside the continental United States, the State of Alaska, the State of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Canal Zone, Canada, or Mexico, and a foreign mailing address is used, such form shall be mailed to…

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Paragraph (c) of section 1655.10, Preparation for Classification, is amended to read as follows: "(c) If the registrant is outside the United States and is in a country other than Canada or Mexico and does not give a military post office (APO or FPO) as his address on line 5 of the Registration Questionnaire—Foreign (SSS Form 50), the Classification Questionnaire (SSS Form 100) shall be mailed by the local board to the Director of Selective Service for transmittal to the registrant, and, unless the local board grants an extension of time for its return, the registrant shall complete and return his Classification Questionnaire (SSS Form 100) through the Director of Selective Service within 60 days after the date the local board transmitted…

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Paragraph (b) of section 1655.11, Classification, is amended to read as follows: "(b) The Notice of Classification (SSS Form 110) shall be mailed to the registrant at his present mailing address as given on line 5 of the Registration Questionnaire—Foreign (SSS Form 50) if such address is a military post office (APO or FPO), or Canada or Mexico; however, if such mailing address is outside the continental United States, the State of Alaska, the State of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Canal Zone, Canada, or Mexico, and a foreign mailing address is used, such form shall be mailed to the Director of Selective Service for transmittal to the registrant."

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ National Security & Defense
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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

"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
467
2,847 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
19.2
Post-Graduate Legal
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 the Military Selective Service Act of 1967 (62 Stat. 604, as amended), I hereby prescribe the following amendments of the Selective Service Regulations prescribed by Executive Orders No. 10344 of April 17, 1952, No. 10594 of January 31, 1955, and No. 10837 of September 14, 1959, and constituting portions of Part 1655—Registration of United States Citizens Outside of the United States and Classification of Such Registrants, of Chapter XVI of Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations: 1. Subparagraph (4) of paragraph (b) of section 1655.6, Records to be Completed by Local Board Receiving Registration Questionnaire—Foreign (SSS Form 50) and Assignment of Selective Service Number, is amended to read as follows: "(4) Mail the completed Registration Certificate (SSS Form 2) to the registrant at his present mailing address as given on line 5 of the Registration Questionnaire—Foreign (SSS Form 50) if such address is a military post office (APO or FPO), or Canada or Mexico; however, if such mailing address is outside the continental United States, the State of Alaska, the State of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Canal Zone, Canada, or Mexico, and a foreign mailing address is used, such form shall be mailed to the Director of Selective Service for transmittal to the registrant." 2. Paragraph (c) of section 1655.10, Preparation for Classification, is amended to read as follows: "(c) If the registrant is outside the United States and is in a country other than Canada or Mexico and does not give a military post office (APO or FPO) as his address on line 5 of the Registration Questionnaire—Foreign (SSS Form 50), the Classification Questionnaire (SSS Form 100) shall be mailed by the local board to the Director of Selective Service for transmittal to the registrant, and, unless the local board grants an extension of time for its return, the registrant shall complete and return his Classification Questionnaire (SSS Form 100) through the Director of Selective Service within 60 days after the date the local board transmitted it to him." 3. Paragraph (b) of section 1655.11, Classification, is amended to read as follows: "(b) The Notice of Classification (SSS Form 110) shall be mailed to the registrant at his present mailing address as given on line 5 of the Registration Questionnaire—Foreign (SSS Form 50) if such address is a military post office (APO or FPO), or Canada or Mexico; however, if such mailing address is outside the continental United States, the State of Alaska, the State of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Canal Zone, Canada, or Mexico, and a foreign mailing address is used, such form shall be mailed to the Director of Selective Service for transmittal to the registrant." LYNDON B. JOHNSON The White House January 24, 1968

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 11,391 (Jan. 24, 1968), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11391-amending-the-selective-service-regulations.