Mrs. Jean N. Edington may be appointed to an appropriate position in the classified service without regard to the requirements of the civil service rules. She is wholly dependent upon her own resources and has two children, eight and six years of age, who are partially dependent upon her, these conditions being brought about by the illness of her husband, Mr. Wallace D. Edington, formerly a junior chemist in the Department of Agriculture, who is a patient for an indefinite period in the Springfield State Hospital for the Insane at Sykesville, Maryland. This order is favored by the Secretary of Agriculture, in whose Department Mrs. Edington has been employed temporarily, and by the Secretary of Commerce, who states that the Department of Commerce will be glad to extend to Mrs. Edington an appointment if an order is issued. The Civil Service Commission, being limited in its recommendations to those cases where a waiver of the rules will more fully meet the needs of the service, is unable to concur. HERBERT HOOVER The White House, April 27, 1929.
Executive Order 5100—Authorizing the Appointment of Jean N. Edington Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Mrs. Jean N. Edington may be appointed to an appropriate position in the classified service without regard to the requirements of the civil service rules.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Herbert Hoover on April 27, 1929, this order concerns Authorizing the Appointment of Jean N. Edington Without Regard to Civil Service Rules. Mrs. Jean N. Edington may be appointed to an appropriate position in the classified service without regard to the requirements of the civil service rules. She is wholly dependent upon her own resources and has two children, eight and six years of age, who are partially dependent upon her, these conditions being brought about by the illness of her husband, Mr. Wallace D. Edington, formerly a junior chemist in the…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Mrs. Jean N. Edington may be appointed to an appropriate position in the classified service without regard to the requirements of the civil service rules.
This order is favored by the Secretary of Agriculture, in whose Department Mrs. Edington has been employed temporarily, and by the Secretary of Commerce, who states that the Department of Commerce will be glad to extend to Mrs. Edington an appointment if an order is issued.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
Policy Areas & Topics
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)
Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)
Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)
Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5100 (Apr. 27, 1929), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5100-authorizing-the-appointment-jean-n-edington-without-regard-civil.