Under and pursuant to the provisions of section 26, paragraph (k), of the act of Congress approved February 23, 1931 (46 Stat. 1212), which paragraph reads as follows: "(k) The President is authorized from time to time to establish, by Executive order, a list of places which by reason of climatic or other extreme conditions are to be classed as unhealthful posts, and each year of duty subsequent to January 1, 1900, at such posts inclusive of regular leaves of absence, of officers already retired or hereafter retired, shall be counted as one year and a half, and so on in like proportion in reckoning the length of service for the purpose of retirement, fractional months being considered as full months in computing such service: Provided, however , That the President may at any time cancel the designation of any places as unhealthful without affecting any credit which has accrued for service at such posts prior to the date of the cancellation." the following places, which include those heretofore established as unhealthful posts for the purpose of retirement, under the act of May 24, 1924, by Executive orders dated April 1, 1925, October 20, 1927, November 28, 1927, and April 10, 1930, which Executive orders are hereby canceled, such cancellation to be effective July 1, 1931, are hereby established as unhealthful posts for the purposes of retirement within the meaning of the law above quoted, which supersedes the act of May 24, 1924: Acapulco, Mexico La Guaira, Venezuela Aden, Arabia La Paz, Bolivia Alvaro Obregon (Frontera), Mexico Léopoldville, Belgian Congo Amoy, China Loanda, Angola Antilla, Cuba Lourenço Marques, East Africa Asunci6n, Paraguay Madras, India Baghdad, Iraq Managua, Nicaragua Bahia, Brazil Manaos, Brazil Bangkok, Siam Manzanillo, Cuba Barranquilla, Colombia Manzanillo, Mexico Batavia, Java Maracaibo, Venezuela Belize, British Honduras Martinique, French Bluefields, Nicaragua West Indies Bombay, India Matanzas, Cuba Buenaventura, Colombia Maza tian, Mexico Caibarien, Cuba Medan, Sumatra Calcutta, India Monrovia, Liberia Canton, China Nanking, China Cartagena, Colombia Nuevitas, Cuba Ceiba, Honduras Para, Brazil Changsha, China Penang, Straits Settlements Chungldng, China Pernambuco, Brazil Cienfuegos, Cuba Port Limon, Costa Rica Colombo, Ceylon Progreso, Mexico Corinto, Nicaragua Puerto Barrios, Guatemala Dakar, Senegal Puerto Cabello, Venezuela Foochow, China Puerto Castilla, Honduras Georgetown, British Guiana Puerto Cortes, Honduras Guayaquil, Ecuador Puerto Plata, Dominican Guaymas, Mexico Republic Habana, Cuba Rangoon, India Hankow, China Sagua la Grande, Cuba Hong Kong Saigon, French Indo-China Karachi, India Salina Cruz, Mexico Lagos, Nigeria Santa Marta, Colombia Santiago, Cuba Swatow, China Santo Domingo, Dominican Taihoku, Taiwan Republic Tampico, Mexico Shanghai, China Tananarive, Madagascar Singapore, Straits Tela, Honduras Settlements Vera Cruz, Mexico Surabaya, Java This order shall become effective July 1, 1931. HERBERT HOOVER The White House, June 8, 1931.
Executive Order 5644—Designation of Unhealthful Posts in the Foreign Service
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Under and pursuant to the provisions of section 26, paragraph (k), of the act of Congress approved February 23, 1931 (46 Stat. 1212), which paragraph reads as follows: "(k) The President is authorized from time to time to establish, by Executive order, a list of places which by reason of climatic or other extreme conditions are to be classed as unhealthful posts, and each year of duty subsequent to January 1, 1900, at such posts inclusive of regular leaves of absence, of officers already retired or hereafter retired, shall be counted as one year and a half, and so on in like proportion in reckoning the length of service for the purpose of retirement, fractional months being considered as full months in computing such service: Provided…
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 June 8, 1931, this order concerns Designation of Unhealthful Posts in the Foreign Service. Under and pursuant to the provisions of section 26, paragraph (k), of the act of Congress approved February 23, 1931 (46 Stat. 1212), which paragraph reads as follows: "(k) The President is authorized from time to time to establish, by Executive order, a list of places which by reason of climatic or other extreme conditions are to be classed as unhealthful posts, and each year of duty subsequent to January 1, 1900…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Under and pursuant to the provisions of section 26, paragraph (k), of the act of Congress approved February 23, 1931 (46 Stat. 1212), which paragraph reads as follows: "(k) The President is authorized from time to time to establish, by Executive order, a list of places which by reason of climatic or other extreme conditions are to be classed as unhealthful posts, and each year of duty subsequent to January 1, 1900, at such posts inclusive of regular leaves of absence, of officers already retired or hereafter retired, shall be counted as one year and a half, and so on in like proportion in reckoning the length of service for the purpose of retirement, fractional months being considered as full months in computing such service: Provided…
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
"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)
Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.
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.
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
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.
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 in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (3)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5644 (June 8, 1931), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5644-designation-unhealthful-posts-the-foreign-service.