By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, including sections 3301 and 7301 of title 5 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Except when otherwise provided by statute, the appeals system established by the Civil Service Commission under chapter 77 of title 5 of the United States Code, and section 22 of Executive Order No. 11491 of October 29, 1969, shall constitute the sole system of appeal for an employee who is covered by that appeals system. SEC. 2. Executive Order No. 10987, relating to agency systems for appeals from adverse action, is revoked. SEC. 3. This order shall be effective on the 90th day after issuance and shall apply to all adverse actions effective on and after that day. However, an appeal timely filed from an adverse action effective prior to that day under an agency appeals system established pursuant to Executive Order No. 10987 shall be processed to completion under that system. RICHARD NIXON The White House, June 11, 1974.
Executive Order 11787 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Executive Order 11787—Revoking Executive Order No. 10987, Relating to Agency Systems for Appeals From Adverse Actions
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (184 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
Except when otherwise provided by statute, the appeals system established by the Civil Service Commission under chapter 77 of title 5 of the United States Code, and section 22 of Executive Order No. 11491 of October 29, 1969, shall constitute the sole system of appeal for an employee who is covered by that appeals system.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Richard Nixon on June 11, 1974, this order concerns Revoking Executive Order No. 10987, Relating to Agency Systems for Appeals From Adverse Actions. Except when otherwise provided by statute, the appeals system established by the Civil Service Commission under chapter 77 of title 5 of the United States Code, and section 22 of Executive Order No. 11491 of October 29, 1969, shall constitute the sole system of appeal for an employee who is covered by that appeals system. SEC. 2.
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
▪
Except when otherwise provided by statute, the appeals system established by the Civil Service Commission under chapter 77 of title 5 of the United States Code, and section 22 of Executive Order No. 11491 of October 29, 1969, shall constitute the sole system of appeal for an employee who is covered by that appeals system.
▪
Executive Order No. 10987, relating to agency systems for appeals from adverse action, is revoked.
▪
However, an appeal timely filed from an adverse action effective prior to that day under an agency appeals system established pursuant to Executive Order No. 10987 shall be processed to completion under that system.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Policy Areas & Topics
🏛️
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating 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
📐
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
35 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
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
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
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
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
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
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
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%).
ℹ️
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
184
1,075 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
11.4
High School
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Jimmy Carter • 1978-12-28
Related Executive Orders
2 orders cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 11491 Oct 29, 1969
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11491—Labor-Management Relations in the Federal Service
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
I hereby direct that the following policies shall govern officers and agencies of the executive branch of the Government in all dealings with Federal employees and organizations representing such employees. GENERAL PROVISIONS SECTION 1. Policy.
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 30m
EO 10987 Jan 17, 1962
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 10987—Agency Systems for Appeals from Adverse Actions
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
The head of each department and agency, in accord with the provisions of this order and regulations issued thereunder by the Civil Service Commission, and to the extent specified in such regulations, shall establish within the department or agency a system for the…
John F. Kennedy Post-Graduate Legal • 4m
EO 11786 Jun 7, 1974
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11786—Inspection of Tax Returns by the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
The Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, or any duly authorized subcommittee thereof is authorized, in connection with House Resolution 803, authorizing and directing an investigation to determine whether grounds exist for the House of Representatives to…
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 11788 Jun 18, 1974
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11788—Providing for the Orderly Termination of Economic Stabilization Activities
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
The authority contained in the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970, as amended, to impose a system of mandatory wage and price controls expired at midnight on April 30, 1974.
Richard Nixon College Level • 8m
EO 11785 Jun 4, 1974
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11785—Amending Executive Order No. 10450, as Amended, Relating to Security Requirements for Government Employment, and for Other Purposes
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
2 of Executive Order No. 10450 of April 27, 1953, as amended, is revised to read in its entirety as follows: "Sec. 12. Executive Order No. 9835 of March 21, 1947, as amended, is hereby revoked." SEC. 2.
Richard Nixon High School • 1m
EO 11784 May 30, 1974
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11784—Delegating to the Administrator of General Services Certain Authority to Issue Regulations Relating to Joint Funding
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the Administrator of General Services is hereby designated and empowered to exercise, without approval, ratification, or other action of the President, the authority of the President to issue regulations with respect…
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,787 (June 11, 1974), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11787-revoking-executive-order-no-10987-relating-agency-systems-for.
