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Executive Order 11890 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 11890—Amending Executive Order No. 10422, as Amended, Prescribing Procedures for Making Available to the Secretary General of the United Nations Certain Information Concerning United States Citizens Employed or Being Considered for Employment on the Secretariat of the United Nations

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Wednesday, December 10, 1975
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3 min read (627 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (627 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Part I of Executive Order No. 10422 of January 9, 1953, as amended, are hereby amended to read as follows: "1.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Gerald R. Ford on December 10, 1975, this order concerns Amending Executive Order No. 10422, as Amended, Prescribing Procedures for Making Available to the Secretary General of the United Nations Certain Information Concerning United States Citizens Employed or Being Considered for Employment on the Secretariat of the United Nations. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Part I of Executive Order No. 10422 of January 9, 1953, as amended, are hereby amended to read as follows: "1. Whenever the Secretary of State receives, from the Secretary General of the United Nations, the name of and other necessary identifying data concerning each United States citizen employed or being considered for employment by the United Nations, the Secretary of State shall…

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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Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Part I of Executive Order No. 10422 of January 9, 1953, as amended, are hereby amended to read as follows: "1.

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Whenever the Secretary of State receives, from the Secretary General of the United Nations, the name of and other necessary identifying data concerning each United States citizen employed or being considered for employment by the United Nations, the Secretary of State shall, consistent with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and other applicable law, cause an investigation to be conducted as provided in paragraph 2 of this Part, or forward the information received from the Secretary General to the Civil Service Commission, which shall conduct an investigation, consistent with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and other applicable law, as provided in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Part.

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With respect to all applicants for short term appointments which will not exceed six months and which are not appointments to United Nations Secretariat professional posts or posts subject to geographical distribution, the Secretary of State shall cause an investigation to be conducted, which investigation shall be limited to a search of the files of the Department of State.

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If the investigation reveals any derogatory information within the meaning of the standard set forth in Part II of this order, the information received from the Secretary General of the United Nations shall be forwarded to the United States Civil.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
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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)
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"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
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
627
3,929 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
22
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 Constitution, statutes, and treaties of the United States, including the Charter of the United Nations, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Part I of Executive Order No. 10422 of January 9, 1953, as amended, are hereby amended to read as follows: "1. Whenever the Secretary of State receives, from the Secretary General of the United Nations, the name of and other necessary identifying data concerning each United States citizen employed or being considered for employment by the United Nations, the Secretary of State shall, consistent with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and other applicable law, cause an investigation to be conducted as provided in paragraph 2 of this Part, or forward the information received from the Secretary General to the Civil Service Commission, which shall conduct an investigation, consistent with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and other applicable law, as provided in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Part. "2. With respect to all applicants for short term appointments which will not exceed six months and which are not appointments to United Nations Secretariat professional posts or posts subject to geographical distribution, the Secretary of State shall cause an investigation to be conducted, which investigation shall be limited to a search of the files of the Department of State. If the investigation reveals any derogatory information within the meaning of the standard set forth in Part II of this order, the information received from the Secretary General of the United Nations shall be forwarded to the United States Civil. Service Commission, which shall conduct an investigation. "3(a) Whenever the Civil Service Commission receives the information forwarded by the Secretary General to the Secretary of State, the Civil Service Commission shall conduct a National Agency Check. Each National Agency Check shall include reference to the following: (1) Federal Bureau of Investigation files; (2) Civil Service Commission files; (3) Military Intelligence files as appropriate; and (4) files of any other appropriate Government investigative or intelligence agency. (b) If the investigation conducted by the Civil Service Commission reveals that a favorable National Agency Check was previously completed, and the investigation conducted by the Civil Service Commission has not disclosed any derogatory information within the meaning of the standard set forth in Part II of this order, completion of a new National Agency Check is not required if: (1) the applicant is or was previously employed by the same or another international organization without an immediately prior break in such service exceeding one year; (2) the applicant is or was a United States Government civilian or military employee, or a United States Government contract employee, without an immediately prior break in such employment exceeding one year; or (3) the applicant is transferred or detailed from an agency of the United States Government pursuant to the provisions of sections 3343, 3581, 3582, 3583, or 3584 of Title 5 of the United States Code.". SEC. 2. Paragraph 2(f) of Part II of Executive Order No. 10422 of January 9, 1953, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "(f) Knowing membership with the specific intent of furthering the aims of, or adherence to and active participation in, any foreign or domestic organization, association, movement, group or combination of persons, which unlawfully advocates or practices the commission of acts of force or violence to prevent others from exercising their rights under the Constitution or laws of the United States, or of any State, or which seeks to overthrow the Government of the United States or any State or subdivision thereof by unlawful means.". GERALD R. FORD The White House, December 10, 1975.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11,890 (Dec. 10, 1975), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11890-amending-executive-order-no-10422-amended-prescribing-procedures-for.