Presidential Order Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order

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Monday, December 21, 1863

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2 min read (315 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 1863-12-21, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Executive Order." 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

▪ Grant and the officers and soldiers who have fought under his command during this rebellion, and providing that the President of the United States shall cause a medal to be struck, to be presented to Major-General Grant in the name of the people of the United States of America.

▪ Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress be, and they hereby are, presented to Major-General Ulysses S.

▪ And be it further resolved , That when the said medal shall have been struck the President shall cause a copy of this joint resolution to be engrossed on parchment, and shall transmit the same, together with the said medal, to Major-General Grant, to be presented to him in the name of the people of the United States of America.

▪ And be it further resolved , That a sufficient sum of money to carry this resolution into effect is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Total Words

315

1,888 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

14.1

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order, "Executive Order," Abraham Lincoln (Dec 21, 1863). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-443.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

GENERAL ORDERS, NO. 398. WAR DEPARTMENT ADJUNTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE The following joint resolution by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States is published to the Army: JOINT RESOLUTION of thanks to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant and the officers and soldiers who have fought under his command during this rebellion, and providing that the President of the United States shall cause a medal to be struck, to be presented to Major-General Grant in the name of the people of the United States of America. Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress be, and they hereby are, presented to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, and through him to the officers and soldiers who have fought under his command during this rebellion, for their gallantry and good conduct in the battles in which they have been engaged; and that the President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be presented to Major-General Grant. Sec. 2. And be it further resolved , That when the said medal shall have been struck the President shall cause a copy of this joint resolution to be engrossed on parchment, and shall transmit the same, together with the said medal, to Major-General Grant, to be presented to him in the name of the people of the United States of America. Sec. 3. And be it further resolved , That a sufficient sum of money to carry this resolution into effect is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. SCHUYLER COLFAX, Speaker of the House of Representatives. H. HAMLIN, Vice-President of the United States and President of the Senate. Approved, December 17, 1863. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjuntant-General.