Executive order of July 31, 1916, withdrawing from settlement, entry or other disposition the lands title to which revested in the United States under the provisions of the act approved June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), which order was modified by Executive order of March 21, 1918, so that the Secretary of the Interior may proceed with the restoration of said lands or any portion thereof, or the sale of timber thereon, in the manner authorized and directed by said act of June 9, 1916, is hereby further modified to the extent of authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw the following described land for use by the Department of Commerce in the maintenance of air navigation facilities under and pursuant to the provisions of section 4 of the act of May 24, 1928 (45 Stat. 728), the timber thereon to remain subject to sale by the United States in accordance with the provisions of the aforesaid act of June 9, 1916: Willamette Meridian, Oregon: T. 31 S., R. 5 W., Sec. 3 NE¼ SW¼ HERBERT HOOVER The White House, July 19, 1929.
Executive Order 5160 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order 5160—Restoring Certain Reserved Lands Withdrawn for Railway Grants to Permit Use in Maintenance of Air Navigation Facilities, Oregon and California
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (184 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
Executive order of July 31, 1916, withdrawing from settlement, entry or other disposition the lands title to which revested in the United States under the provisions of the act approved June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), which order was modified by Executive order of March 21, 1918, so that the Secretary of the Interior may proceed with the restoration of said lands or any portion thereof, or the sale of timber thereon, in the manner authorized and directed by said act of June 9, 1916, is hereby further modified to the extent of authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw the following described land for use by the Department of Commerce in the maintenance of air navigation facilities under and pursuant to the provisions of section 4…
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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 July 19, 1929, this order concerns Restoring Certain Reserved Lands Withdrawn for Railway Grants to Permit Use in Maintenance of Air Navigation Facilities, Oregon and California. Executive order of July 31, 1916, withdrawing from settlement, entry or other disposition the lands title to which revested in the United States under the provisions of the act approved June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), which order was modified by Executive order of March 21, 1918, so that the Secretary of the Interior may proceed with the restoration of said lands or any portion thereof, or the sale of timber thereon…
Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
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Executive order of July 31, 1916, withdrawing from settlement, entry or other disposition the lands title to which revested in the United States under the provisions of the act approved June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), which order was modified by Executive order of March 21, 1918, so that the Secretary of the Interior may proceed with the restoration of said lands or any portion thereof, or the sale of timber thereon, in the manner authorized and directed by said act of June 9, 1916, is hereby further modified to the extent of authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw the following described land for use by the Department of Commerce in the maintenance of air navigation facilities under and pursuant to the provisions of section 4…
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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.
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH
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.
Hamiltonian Stance: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
GM
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)
The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.
Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
42 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Moderate Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Low Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments
Moderate Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️
Audit Synthesis
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
184
1,038 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
21.1
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
Related Executive Orders
Other executive actions signed by Herbert Hoover around this period.
EO 5159 Jul 18, 1929
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5159—Establishing Reidsville, North Carolina as a Customs Port of Entry
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Act of Congress approved August 1, 1914, making appropriations for the sundry, civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1915, Reidsville, North Carolina, is hereby created a port of entry in Customs…
Herbert Hoover College Level • 1m
EO 5158 Jul 16, 1929
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
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📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
Snake, Dead Man or Bird, and North Keys, situated in the island group known as Cedar Keys, on the west coast of Florida in Townships 15 and 16 South, Range 12 East, and Township 16 South, Range 13 East, Talla- hasse Meridian, within the boundary indicated by the broken line…
Herbert Hoover Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 5157 Jul 16, 1929
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5157—Restoring Certain Reserved Lands in Hawaii Withdrawn for Punchbowl Hill Military Reservation to Territory of Hawaii Government
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
The military reservation of Punchbowl Hill, situated at Honolulu, Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, as reserved by Executive order of January 18, 1906 (General Orders No. 21, War Department, January 27, 1906), except that portion thereof retained for military purposes by…
Herbert Hoover High School • 1m
EO 5161 Jul 23, 1929
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5161—Authorizing the Appointment of Louis Bulicek Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Louis Bulicek may be appointed to an appropriate position in the Department of Commerce without reference to the provisions of the civil-service rules.
Herbert Hoover College Level • 1m
EO 5162 Jul 24, 1929
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5162—Restoring Certain Reserved Lands Withdrawn for Airplane Landing Field, Wyoming
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order No. 3815, issued April 9, 1923, under authority of the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 847) as amended by the act of August 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 497) temporarily withdrawing the N½ SW¼ and SW¼ SW¼ Sec. 10, T. 19 N., R. 105 W., 6th P.M., Wyoming, containing 120…
Herbert Hoover Grade 9 • 1m
EO 5164 Jul 25, 1929
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5164—Authorizing the Appointment of James Lawrence Bent Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Mr. James Lawrence Bent, chief electrician's mate, United States Navy, may be appointed to the position of lieutenant of police, Industrial Department, Naval Station, Cavite, Philippine Islands, to fill an existing vacancy, without regard to the Civil Service Act or Rules.
Herbert Hoover High School • 1m
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5160 (July 19, 1929), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5160-restoring-certain-reserved-lands-withdrawn-for-railway-grants-permit.
