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Executive Order 1857 Constitutional Friction / Overreach (-0.41)

Executive Order 1857—To Regulate the Carrying of Arms in the Canal Zone

Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson
•
Friday, November 7, 1913
•
4 min read (875 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

This executive order, signed by President Woodrow Wilson on 1913-11-07, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "To Regulate the Carrying of Arms in the Canal Zone." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

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

▪ By virtue of the authority vested in me, I hereby establish the following order for the Canal Zone: Section 1.
▪ In addition to the punishment herein prescribed for unlawfully carrying arms, the courts shall adjudge the seizure and confiscation of the arms unlawfully carried by the offending party and the same shall be disposed of in such manner as the Head of the Department of Civil Administration shall determine.
▪ For the purposes of this order, a certificate of membership in the gun or pistol club shall be issued by the organization and approved by the Head of the Department of Civil Administration, and shall entitle the holder to carry firearms as provided for in this section.
▪ Neither shall the preceding section apply to any person authorized to have or carry arms by permit granted under the terms and conditions named in section 3 hereof.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
Total Words
875
5,021 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
22.2
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
-0.41
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 1857, Woodrow Wilson (Nov 7, 1913). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-1857-regulate-the-carrying-arms-the-canal-zone.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By virtue of the authority vested in me, I hereby establish the following order for the Canal Zone: Section 1. Anyone who carries on or about his person any firearm, dirk, dagger or other knife manufactured or sold for the purpose of offence or defence, or any slungshot, sword-cane or any knuckles made of metal or other hard substance, shall be punished by fine of not less than Five Dollars nor more than Twenty-five Dollars, or by imprisonment in jail of not less than five days nor more than thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court, and during such time of imprisonment such offender may be put to work upon any public work in the Canal Zone. In addition to the punishment herein prescribed for unlawfully carrying arms, the courts shall adjudge the seizure and confiscation of the arms unlawfully carried by the offending party and the same shall be disposed of in such manner as the Head of the Department of Civil Administration shall determine. Section 2. The preceding section shall not apply to a person engaged in the military or naval service of the United States or as a peace officer or officer authorized to execute judicial process of the United States or the Canal Zone, or in carrying mail or engaged in the collection or custody of funds of the United States or the Canal Zone, nor to a member of a gun or pistol club for the promotion of target practice, a certified copy of the constitution and by-laws of which has been approved by the Head of the Department of Civil Administration, and filed with the Collector of Revenues, when such member is going to or from a target range, and engaged in practice at the target range. For the purposes of this order, a certificate of membership in the gun or pistol club shall be issued by the organization and approved by the Head of the Department of Civil Administration, and shall entitle the holder to carry firearms as provided for in this section. Neither shall the preceding section apply to any person authorized to have or carry arms by permit granted under the terms and conditions named in section 3 hereof. Section 3. The Head of the Department of Civil Administration may authorize the granting of permits to have and carry arms as follows: 1. To hunt upon the public lands of the Canal Zone, or upon the lands of private persons when authorized by the latter. 2. To have arms in residences, offices, business places and plantations; and to watchmen or overseers of plantations, factories, warehouses, docks or piers. Applications for such permits shall be made to the Head of the Department of Civil Administration and shall state the full name, residence and occupation of the applicant, and if the applicant is a minor it shall not be granted without the written consent of his parent or guardian. The Head of the Department of Civil Administration shall satisfy himself by due inquiry that the applicant is a proper person to have a permit to carry arms, and he may grant or deny the application as to him may seem proper. When an application is granted by the Head of the Department of Civil Administration for a permit to hunt he shall file the application, with his approval endorsed thereon, with the Collector of Revenues, who shall issue a permit to the applicant upon his paying the Collector of Revenues a fee of one dollar, to be covered into the Treasury of the Canal Zone Government. The hunting permits issued by virtue of this order shall authorize the holder thereof to have, use or carry a gun, rifle or other similar long arm for hunting purposes during the fiscal year for which the permit is issued, provided, however, that such permit may be revoked at any time for cause by the Head of the Department of Civil Administration. Section 4. Anyone who engages in hunting without first obtaining the permit provided for in this order shall be subject to a fine not exceeding Twenty-five dollars or imprisonment in jail not exceeding ten days, provided, however, that persons engaged in the land or naval forces of the United States shall not be required to obtain a permit to hunt upon the public lands of the Canal Zone. Section 5. Penalties for infringements of this order imposed upon intoxicated or disorderly persons shall be in addition to the punishments authorized by law for such intoxicated or disorderly conduct. Section 6. Sections 449 to 460, both inclusive, of the Penal Code, the Executive Order of December 1, 1909, issued by the Secretary of War by authority of the President, amending Section 450 and 456 of the Penal Code, and the Executive Order of the Secretary of War, issued by authority of the President, dated November 3, 1911, amending Section 456 of the Penal Code as amended by the Executive Order above mentioned, and all other laws, orders and decrees in conflict with this order are hereby repealed. Section 7. This order shall take effect thirty days from and after its publication in the Canal Record. WOODROW WILSON THE WHITE HOUSE, November 7, 1913.