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Executive Order 11449 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 11449—Participation in the International Coffee Organization

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson
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Friday, January 17, 1969
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2 min read (498 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (498 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Subject to the provisions of this order, the powers of the President involved in the participation of the United States of America in the Agreement, including so much of the functions conferred upon the President by the Act as is neither reserved nor delegated to other officers herein, are hereby delegated to the Secretary of State.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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 17, 1969, this order concerns Participation in the International Coffee Organization. Secretary of State. Subject to the provisions of this order, the powers of the President involved in the participation of the United States of America in the Agreement, including so much of the functions conferred upon the President by the Act as is neither reserved nor delegated to other officers herein, are hereby delegated to the Secretary of State. SEC. 2. Secretary of the Treasury.

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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Subject to the provisions of this order, the powers of the President involved in the participation of the United States of America in the Agreement, including so much of the functions conferred upon the President by the Act as is neither reserved nor delegated to other officers herein, are hereby delegated to the Secretary of State.

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The functions conferred upon the President by subsections (1) (A) and (B) and (2) of section 302 of the Act, together with the authority to issue and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary to perform those functions, are hereby delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury.

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There are hereby reserved to the President the functions conferred upon him by sections 304, 305, 306 and subsections (1) (C) and (4) of section 302 of the Act.

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The functions assigned by the provisions of this order shall be performed under effective coordination.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Economy & Finance 🏷️ Labor & Employment 🏷️ Agriculture
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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 1 (Maximum Authority)
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"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
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: Supportive of Execution
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
31 / 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

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

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ 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
498
3,098 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
15.2
College Level
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 Constitution of the United States of America, the International Coffee Agreement Act of 1968 (Title III of Public Law 90-634, approved October 24, 1968, 82 Stat. 1348), hereinafter referred to as the Act, the International Coffee Agreement, 1962, as continued by the International Coffee Agreement, 1968, ratified November 1, 1968, and proclaimed November 18, 1968 (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement), section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288), and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Secretary of State. Subject to the provisions of this order, the powers of the President involved in the participation of the United States of America in the Agreement, including so much of the functions conferred upon the President by the Act as is neither reserved nor delegated to other officers herein, are hereby delegated to the Secretary of State. SEC. 2. Secretary of the Treasury. The functions conferred upon the President by subsections (1) (A) and (B) and (2) of section 302 of the Act, together with the authority to issue and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary to perform those functions, are hereby delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury. SEC. 3. Secretaries of State, the Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor. The functions conferred upon the President by subsection (3) of section 302 of the Act, together with the authority to issue and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary to perform those functions, are hereby delegated to the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce and Labor, severally. SEC. 4. Functions reserved. There are hereby reserved to the President the functions conferred upon him by sections 304, 305, 306 and subsections (1) (C) and (4) of section 302 of the Act. SEC. 5. Coordination. The functions assigned by the provisions of this order shall be performed under effective coordination. The measures of coordination hereunder shall include the following: (1) In effecting and carrying out the participation of the United States of America in the Agreement, the Secretary of State shall consult with the appropriate heads of Federal agencies, including the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Labor. (2) The delegates under section 3 of this order shall use the functions delegated thereunder as they and the Secretary of State shall mutually agree. SEC. 6. Redelegation. Each Secretary mentioned in this order is hereby authorized to redelegate within his Department the functions hereinabove assigned to him. SEC. 7. Prior orders. (a) Executive Order No. 11225 of May 22, 1965 shall continue in force subject to the following amendment: Insert the phrase "as continued by the International Coffee Agreement, 1968" after the phrase "TIAS 5055)". (b) Executive Order No. 11229 of June 14, 1965 is hereby revoked. LYNDON B. JOHNSON The White House January 17, 1969

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 11,449 (Jan. 17, 1969), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11449-participation-the-international-coffee-organization.