Presidential Order Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order

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Wednesday, August 7, 1861

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1 min read (171 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 Abraham Lincoln on 1861-08-07, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Executive Order." 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

▪ By the fifty-seventh article of the act of Congress entitled "An act for establishing rules and articles for the government of the armies of the United States," approved April 10, 1806, holding correspondence with or giving intelligence to the enemy, either directly or indirectly, is made punishable by death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a court-martial.

▪ Public safety requires strict enforcement of this article.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Total Words

171

1,119 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

28.2

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order, "Executive Order," Abraham Lincoln (Aug 7, 1861). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-391.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By the fifty-seventh article of the act of Congress entitled "An act for establishing rules and articles for the government of the armies of the United States," approved April 10, 1806, holding correspondence with or giving intelligence to the enemy, either directly or indirectly, is made punishable by death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a court-martial. Public safety requires strict enforcement of this article. It is therefore ordered, That all correspondence and communication, verbally or by writing, printing, or telegraphing, respecting operations of the Army or military movements on land or water, or respecting the troops, camps, arsenals, intrenchments, or military affairs within the several military districts, by which intelligence shall be, directly or indirectly, given to the enemy, without the authority and sanction of the major-general in command, be, and the same are absolutely prohibited, and from and after the date of this order persons violating the same will be proceeded against under the fifty-seventh article of war SIMON CAMERON. Approved: A. LINCOLN.