Pursuant to the provisions of section 257(a) of the Revenue Act of 1926 and section 55 of the Revenue Act of 1928, it is hereby ordered that returns may be open to inspection by State officers for State intangible property tax purposes, in accordance and upon compliance with the amendment, bearing even date herewith, to the rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and approved by the President, bearing date of April 13, 1926, as amended. HERBERT HOOVER The White House, March 22, 1932.
Executive Order 5824 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Executive Order 5824—Inspection of Income Tax Returns
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (87 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
Returns may be open to inspection by State officers for State intangible property tax purposes, in accordance and upon compliance with the amendment, bearing even date herewith, to the rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and approved by the President, bearing date of April 13, 1926, as amended.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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 March 22, 1932, this order concerns Inspection of Income Tax Returns. Returns may be open to inspection by State officers for State intangible property tax purposes, in accordance and upon compliance with the amendment, bearing even date herewith, to the rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and approved by the President, bearing date of April 13, 1926, as amended.
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
▪
Returns may be open to inspection by State officers for State intangible property tax purposes, in accordance and upon compliance with the amendment, bearing even date herewith, to the rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and approved by the President, bearing date of April 13, 1926, as amended.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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 1 (Maximum Authority)
§
"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."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM
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.
Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH
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.
Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
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
📐
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
31 / 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
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers
Low Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️
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
87
514 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
20.4
Post-Graduate Legal
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Related Executive Orders
Other executive actions signed by Herbert Hoover around this period.
EO 5823 Mar 21, 1932
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5823—Revocation of Withdrawal of Public Lands Pending Resurvey, Colorado
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order No. 4827, dated March 12, 1928, which withdrew the public lands in T. 36 N., R. 12 W., and sees. 1, 12, 13, 24, 25, and 36, T. 36 N., R. 13 W., New Mexico principal meridian, Colorado, pending resurvey, be, and the same is hereby, revoked.
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EO 5822 Mar 19, 1932
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📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Fred Scott of Valdez, Alaska, may be appointed as guard at one of the Federal penitentiaries, Department of Justice, without compliance with the requirements of the civil-service rules.
Herbert Hoover Grade 9 • 1m
EO 5825 Mar 26, 1932
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.23)
Executive Order 5825—Leaves of Absence, Foreign Service
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
Paragraph (d), section 8, Chapter VI, Instructions to Diplomatic Officers, and paragraph (d), section 467 of the Consular Regulations of 1896, are hereby amended to read as follows: (d) Leave without compensation.
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EO 5821 Mar 17, 1932
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5821—Waiver of Age Limit to Permit Appointment of Joseph H. Hopkins
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
The maximum age limit for appointment as acting postmaster and that for entrance to the open competitive examination for postmaster at the post office at Woodward, Okla., is hereby waived to permit Mr. Joseph H. Hopkins to be appointed acting postmaster at that office and to…
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EO 5827 Mar 28, 1932
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5827—Withdrawal of Public Lands for Military Purposes, California
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
The public lands in the townships hereinafter described be, and the same are hereby, withdrawn from settlement, location, sale, entry, and all forms of appropriation, subject to all valid existing rights, and held for the exclusive use and benefit of the War Department for…
Herbert Hoover Grade 7 • 1m
EO 5826 Mar 28, 1932
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5826—Roosevelt National Forest, Colorado
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
The name of the "Colorado National Forest," as defined by proclamation of June 12, 1917 (40 Stat. 1671), and subsequently modified by acts of Congress, be changed to "Roosevelt National Forest" in honor of Theodore Roosevelt, twenty-sixth President of the United States.
Herbert Hoover College Level • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5824 (Mar. 22, 1932), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5824-inspection-income-tax-returns.
