Executive Order 2185 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 2185—Changing the Name of Culebra Cut to Gaillard Cut

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Tuesday, April 27, 1915

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1 min read (157 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 1915-04-27, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Changing the Name of Culebra Cut to Gaillard Cut." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.

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

▪ That the portion of the Panama Canal through the continental divide heretofore known as "Culebra Cut" shall hereafter be named "Gaillard Cut" in honor of the late Lieutenant-Colonel D.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises

Total Words

157

959 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

11.9

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 2185, Woodrow Wilson (Apr 27, 1915). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-2185-changing-the-name-culebra-cut-gaillard-cut.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

It is hereby ordered that the portion of the Panama Canal through the continental divide heretofore known as "Culebra Cut" shall hereafter be named "Gaillard Cut" in honor of the late Lieutenant-Colonel D. D. Gaillard, Corps of Engineers, United States Army. As a member of the Isthmian Canal Commission from March 16, 1907, to December 5, 1913, Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard was in charge of the work in Culebra Cut until its virtual completion, being compelled to abandon his duties in July, 1913, through an illness which culminated in his death on December 5, 1913. His period of Panama Canal service included the years of most active construction work. He brought to the service trained ability of the highest class, untiring zeal and unswerving devotion to duty. I deem it a fitting recognition of Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard's service to the country to re-name in his honor the scene of his life's triumph. WOODROW WILSON THE WHITE HOUSE, April 27, 1915.