By virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 5 (b) of the Act of October 6, 1917, as amended by Section 2 of the Act of March 9, 1933, entitled "An Act to provide relief in the existing national emergency in banking, and for other purposes," in which amendatory Act Congress declared that a serious emergency exists, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do declare that said national emergency still continues to exist and pursuant to said section and by virtue of all other authority vested in me, do hereby issue the following executive order: 1. Until further order, the earmarking for foreign account and the export of gold coin, gold bullion or gold certificates from the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof 'are hereby prohibited, except that the Secretary of the Treasury, in his discretion and subject to such regulations as he may prescribe, may issue licenses authorizing the export of gold coin and bullion (a) earmarked or held in trust for a recognized foreign government or foreign central bank or the Bank for International Settlements, (b) imported for reexport or gold in reasonable amounts for usual trade requirements of refiners importing gold bearing materials under agreement to export gold, (c) actually required for the fulfillment of any contract entered into prior to the date of this order, by an applicant who in obedience to the Executive Order of April 5, 1933, has delivered gold coin, gold bullion or gold certificates, and (d) with the approval of the President, for transactions which he may deem necessary to promote the public interest. 2. Until further order, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized, through any agency that he may designate, to investigate, regulate, or prohibit, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, by means of licenses or otherwise, any transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit from any banking institution within the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof to any foreign branch or office of such banking institution or to any foreign bank or banker, and the export or withdrawal of currency from the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, by any individual, partnership, association, or corporation within the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof; and the Secretary of the Treasury may require any individual, partnership, association, or corporation engaged in any transaction referred to herein to furnish under oath, complete information relative thereto, including the production of any books of account, contracts, letters or other papers, in connection therewith in the custody or control of such individual, partnership, association, or corporation either before or after such transaction is completed. 3. The provisions relating to foreign exchange transactions contained in the Executive Order of March 10, 1933, shall remain in full force and effect except as amended or supplemented by this order and by regulations issued hereunder. 4. Applicants who have gold coin, gold bullion or gold certificates in their possession, or who in obedience to the Executive Order of April 5, 1933, have delivered gold coin, gold bullion or gold certificates shall be entitled to licenses as provided in Section 8 of said Executive Order for amounts not exceeding the equivalent of such coin, bullion or certificates held or delivered. The Secretary may in his discretion issue or decline to issue any other licenses under said Executive Order, which shall in all other respects remain in full force and effect. 5. Whoever willfully violates any provision of this Executive Order or of any rule, regulation or license issued thereunder may be fined not more than $10,000, or, if a natural person, may be imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both; and any officer, director, or agent of any corporation who knowingly participates in any such violation may be punished by a like fine, imprisonment, or both. This order may be modified or revoked at any time. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, April 20, 1933.
Executive Order 6111—Relating to Foreign Exchange and the Earmarking and Export of Gold Coin or Bullion or Currency
Executive Brief • At a Glance
I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do declare that said national emergency still continues to exist and pursuant to said section and by virtue of all other authority vested in me, do hereby issue the following executive order: 1.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 20, 1933, this order concerns Relating to Foreign Exchange and the Earmarking and Export of Gold Coin or Bullion or Currency. I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do declare that said national emergency still continues to exist and pursuant to said section and by virtue of all other authority vested in me, do hereby issue the following executive order: 1.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do declare that said national emergency still continues to exist and pursuant to said section and by virtue of all other authority vested in me, do hereby issue the following executive order: 1.
Until further order, the earmarking for foreign account and the export of gold coin, gold bullion or gold certificates from the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof 'are hereby prohibited, except that the Secretary of the Treasury, in his discretion and subject to such regulations as he may prescribe, may issue licenses authorizing the export of gold coin and bullion (a) earmarked or held in trust for a recognized foreign government or foreign central bank or the Bank for International Settlements, (b) imported for reexport or gold in reasonable amounts for usual trade requirements of refiners importing gold bearing materials under agreement to export gold, (c) actually required for the fulfillment of any…
Until further order, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized, through any agency that he may designate, to investigate, regulate, or prohibit, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, by means of licenses or otherwise, any transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit from any banking institution within the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof to any foreign branch or office of such banking institution or to any foreign bank or banker, and the export or withdrawal of currency from the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, by any individual, partnership, association, or corporation within the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction…
The provisions relating to foreign exchange transactions contained in the Executive Order of March 10, 1933, shall remain in full force and effect except as amended or supplemented by this order and by regulations issued hereunder. 4.
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 takes measures incompatible with the expressed or implied will of Congress, his power is at its lowest ebb."
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands... may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." — Federalist No. 47 (1788)
Madison would express grave alarm over this order. By asserting independent authority in tension with legislative limits or the Bill of Rights, the Executive risks collapsing the separation of powers into unilateral rule. Under the Madisonian model, no emergency justifies the Executive substituting its decree for a deliberative Act of Congress.
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 purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)
George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.
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
Invokes broad unilateral or emergency executive authorities that test the constitutional boundary of the Take Care Clause.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order asserts independent Article II prerogative against statutory constraints, reallocates funds without explicit appropriation, or stretches executive power into realms constitutionally reserved to the legislature or judiciary.
This directive engages significant constitutional friction across statutory authorization, legislative prerogatives, or individual liberties.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 6111 (Apr. 20, 1933), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6111-relating-foreign-exchange-and-the-earmarking-and-export-gold-coin-or.