RELATING TO TRADE AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING SOUTHERN RHODESIA By virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 5 of the United Nations Participation Act of 1945, as amended (22 U.S.C. 287c), and Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States of America, Section 4 of Executive Order No. 11419 of July 29, 1968, is hereby amended by adding thereto the following subsection: "(c) The Secretary of the Treasury may exempt from the provisions of this Order, and Executive Order No. 11322, as amended, any shipment of chromium in any form which is in transit to the United States on March 18, 1977.". JIMMY CARTER The White House, March 18, 1977. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 1:51 p.m., March 18, 1977]
Executive Order 11978 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Executive Order 11978—Trade Involving Southern Rhodesia
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (134 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
By virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 5 of the United Nations Participation Act of 1945, as amended (22 U.S.C. 287c), and Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States of America, Section 4 of Executive Order No. 11419 of July 29, 1968, is hereby amended by adding thereto the following subsection: "(c) The Secretary of the Treasury may…
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Foreign Nations & International Entities Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Jimmy Carter on March 18, 1977, this order concerns Trade Involving Southern Rhodesia. By virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 5 of the United Nations Participation Act of 1945, as amended (22 U.S.C. 287c), and Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States of America, Section 4 of Executive Order No. 11419 of July 29, 1968, is hereby amended by adding thereto the following subsection: "(c) The Secretary of the Treasury may exempt from the…
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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By virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 5 of the United Nations Participation Act of 1945, as amended (22 U.S.C. 287c), and Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States of America, Section 4 of Executive Order No. 11419 of July 29, 1968, is hereby amended by adding thereto the following subsection: "(c) The Secretary of the Treasury may…
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises
🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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 1 (Maximum Authority)
§
"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.
🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
28 / 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
Low Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
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
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Audit Synthesis
This order operates in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.
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
134
766 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
10.9
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 • 1979-12-16
Related Executive Orders
2 orders cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 11419 Jul 29, 1968
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11419—Relating to Trade and Other Transactions Involving Southern Rhodesia
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
In addition to the prohibitions of section 1 of Executive Order No. 11322 of January 5, 1967, the following are prohibited effective immediately, notwithstanding any contracts entered into or licenses granted before the date of this Order: (a) Importation into the United States…
Lyndon B. Johnson Post-Graduate Legal • 5m
EO 11322 Jan 5, 1967
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11322—Relating to Trade and Other Transactions Involving Southern Rhodesia
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
The following are prohibited effective immediately, notwithstanding any contracts entered into or licenses granted before the date of this Order: (a) The importation into the United States of asbestos, iron ore, chrome, pig-iron, sugar, tobacco, copper, meat and meat products…
Lyndon B. Johnson Post-Graduate Legal • 5m
EO 11977 Mar 14, 1977
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11977—Public International Organizations
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
The African Development Fund, in which the United States participates pursuant to Section 202 of the Act of May 31, 1976 (90 Stat. 593, 22 U.S.C. 290g) and the Agreement Establishing the African Development Fund, is hereby designated as a public international organization…
Jimmy Carter College Level • 2m
EO 11976 Mar 11, 1977
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11976—Executive Schedule
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Of Executive Odder No. 11861, as amended, placing certain positions in level IV of the Executive Schedule, is further amended by adding thereto "(17) Director of Agricultural Economics, Department of Agriculture." and "(18) Assistant to the Secretary for Legislative Affairs…
Jimmy Carter High School • 1m
EO 11979 Mar 28, 1977
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11979—National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year, 1975
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
(b) of Executive Order No. 11832, as amended by Executive Order No. 11889, is amended to read as follows: "(b) The Commission shall consist of not more than 45 members to be appointed by the President from among citizens in private life, except that not more than 10 members may…
Jimmy Carter High School • 1m
EO 11981 Mar 29, 1977
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11981—Interagency Committee for the Purchase of United States Savings Bonds
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
There is hereby established the Interagency Committee for the Purchase of United States Savings Bonds (hereinafter referred to as the Committee).
Jimmy Carter College Level • 3m
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,978 (Mar. 18, 1977), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11978-trade-involving-southern-rhodesia.
