Executive Order 2720 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 2720—Giving Chief of Staff Control over the War Department in the Absence of the Secretary of War and Assistant Secretary of War

•

Saturday, September 29, 1917

•

1 min read (93 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 1917-09-29, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Giving Chief of Staff Control over the War Department in the Absence of the Secretary of War and Assistant Secretary of War." 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

▪ Formal executive instruction issued by the President establishing official administrative policy on Giving Chief of Staff Control over the War Department in the Absence of the Secretary of War and Assistant Secretary of War.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

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

Total Words

572 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

16.8

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 2720, Woodrow Wilson (Sep 29, 1917). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-2720-giving-chief-staff-control-over-the-war-department-the-absence-the.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

In accordance with the provisions of Section 179 of the Revised Statutes, as amended by an Act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Government, approved August 5, 1882 (22 Stats., 238), the Chief of Staff, United States Army, is authorized and directed to perform the duties of Secretary of War during the illness or temporary absence from the seat of Government of the Secretary of War, whenever during such illness or absence the Assistant Secretary of War is also absent. WOODROW WILSON THE WHITE HOUSE, 29 September, 1917.