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Executive Order 6131 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 6131-A—Relief of Unemployment Through the Performance of Useful Public Work

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Saturday, May 13, 1933
•
7 min read (1,423 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 7 min read (1,423 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The following naval surgeons are hereby attached to the War Department for duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps and ordered to report to the Secretary of War for duty upon receipt of written orders from the Secretary of War: First Corps Area, Boston, Mass.; Naval Hospital, Boston, Mass. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN Joseph F. Rech Joseph J. Wells Murphy K. Cureton Rudolph E. Swenson Clarence Minnema Donald O. Wissinger Griffin C. Daughtridge Howard L. Puckett Clifford W. Moore Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H. Lieut.

View all 3 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners
Inspect unabridged text ↓

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 May 13, 1933, this order concerns Relief of Unemployment Through the Performance of Useful Public Work. The following naval surgeons are hereby attached to the War Department for duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps and ordered to report to the Secretary of War for duty upon receipt of written orders from the Secretary of War: First Corps Area, Boston, Mass.; Naval Hospital, Boston, Mass. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN Joseph F. Rech Joseph J. Wells Murphy K. Cureton Rudolph E. Swenson Clarence Minnema Donald O.…

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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The following naval surgeons are hereby attached to the War Department for duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps and ordered to report to the Secretary of War for duty upon receipt of written orders from the Secretary of War: First Corps Area, Boston, Mass.; Naval Hospital, Boston, Mass. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN Joseph F. Rech Joseph J. Wells Murphy K. Cureton Rudolph E. Swenson Clarence Minnema Donald O. Wissinger Griffin C. Daughtridge Howard L. Puckett Clifford W. Moore Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H. Lieut.

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In the issuance of orders to report for duty, naval medical officers shall be given priority over members of the Army Medical Corps Reserve and Navy Medical Corps Reserve and contract physicians.

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When these officers report for duty, they shall be placed upon the payrolls of the Civilian Conservation Corps and shall be paid from funds allocated to the Director of Emergency Conservation Work by Executive Order No. 6101 dated April 5, 1933.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Healthcare & Public Health 🏷️ National Security & Defense 🏷️ Energy & Environment
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating 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

"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: Strong Prerogative Support
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

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

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

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

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

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

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

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Moderate Friction

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%).
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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
1,423
8,489 characters
Estimated Read Time
7 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
5.1
Grade 5
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

Whereas it is provided by the act of Congress entitled "AN ACT For the relief of unemployment through the performance of useful public work, and for other purposes", approved March 31, 1933 (Public, No. 5, 73d Cong.), that "the President is authorized, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe and by utilizing such existing departments or agencies as he may designate, to provide for employing citizens of the United States who are unemployed, in the construction, maintenance and carrying on of works of a public nature * * * ", and Whereas the said act also provides as follows: "The President is further authorized, by regulation, to provide for housing the persons so employed and for furnishing them with such subsistence, clothing, medical attendance and hospitalization, and cash allowance, as may be necessary, during the period they are so employed", and Whereas I am advised by the Secretary of the Navy that, as a result of action taken by the Administrator of the Veterans Administration under the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 20, 1933 (Public, No. 2, 73d Cong.), 169 naval surgeons are available for furnishing medical attendance to citizens provided with employment by the Director of Emergency Conservation Work, and Whereas the responsibility for the hospitalization and medical attendance for the Civilian Conservation Corps has been assigned to the War Department, Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by said acts of Congress or otherwise, it is hereby ordered that the following naval surgeons are hereby attached to the War Department for duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps and ordered to report to the Secretary of War for duty upon receipt of written orders from the Secretary of War: First Corps Area, Boston, Mass.; Naval Hospital, Boston, Mass. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN Joseph F. Rech Joseph J. Wells Murphy K. Cureton Rudolph E. Swenson Clarence Minnema Donald O. Wissinger Griffin C. Daughtridge Howard L. Puckett Clifford W. Moore Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H. Lieut. (jg) Frank J. Gillette, MC, USN Navy Hospital, Portsmouth, N.H. Lieut. (jg) Robert S. Simpson, MC, USN Naval Training Station, Newport, R.I. Lieut. (jg) Alvin J. Cerny, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Ralph M. McComas, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Garland A. Gray, MC, USN Naval Hospital, Newport, R.I. Lieut. (jg) Austin J. Walter, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Carr E. Bentel, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Fred Harbert, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Joseph E. Evans, MC, USN Submarine Base, New London, Conn. Lieut. (jg) Isaac S. McReynolds, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Otto E. Van der Aue, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Benjamin G. Feen, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Robert E. Shands, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Thomas L. Willmon, MC, USN Second Corps Area, Governor's Island, N.Y.; Naval Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN James R. Reid, Jr. John T. Smith Oran W. Chenault Edgar L. Nefflen James E. Fulghum Edward F. Kline William P. Locke Langdon C. Newman Joseph L. Zundell Wadeeh S. Rizk James G. Neff Cameron L. Hogan Herman A. Gross Charles W. Stelle Douglas T. Prehn Julian Love Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y. Lieut. (jg) Andrew Galloway, MC, USN Receiving Ship, New York, N.Y. Lieut. (jg) John D. Foley, MC, USN Note: En route to United States from Philippines, due New York about June 15. Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, N.J. Lieut. (jg) Cecil D. Riggs, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Howard K. Sessions, MC, USN Third Corps Area, Baltimore, Md.: Naval Hospital, League Island, Philadelphia, Pa. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN Frederick R. Lang Clark G. Grazier Martin H. Benson Robert L. Ware Robert Bell Victor G. Colvin Fitz-John Weddell, Jr. James B. Butler Edward S. Lowe Irving J. Warmolts Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN Charles L. Ferguson Joseph V. Land Isadore Zugerman Naval Dispensary, Washington, D.C. Lieut. (jg) Emmett D. Hightower, MC, USN Naval Hospital, Washington, D.C. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN Francis A. Brunson Weston T. Buddington Paul K. Perkins Adrian J. Delaney Lawrence E. Bach Malcolm W. Arnold Edward T. Gary Keitt H. Smith Clifford P. Powell Alva C. Surber Emory E. Walter Claude R. Ball Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. Lieut. (jg) James E. Wilson, MC, USN Naval Medical School, Washington, D.C. Lieut. (jg) Robert Faust, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Frederic W. Farrar, MC, USN Marine Barracks, Quantico, Va. Lieut. (jg) Clarence F. Morrison, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Thomas M. Arnett, MC, USN Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. Lieut. (jg) William F. E. Loftin, MC, USN Norfolk Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, Va. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN William T. Booth Frank A. Latham Powell W. Griffith Eugene R. Hammersley John F. Register David J. Cracovaner Clarence C. Myers Gordon B. Tayloe Charles B. Stringfellow Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Va. Lieut. (jg) Bishop L. Malpass, MC, USN Navy Mine Depot, Yorktown, Va. Lieut. (jg) Elmer L. Caveny, MC, USN Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va. Lieut. (jg) James L. Holland, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) John D. Yarbrough, MC, USN Naval Air Station, Hampton Roads, Va. Lieut. (jg) James E. Reeves, MC, USN Naval Training Station, Hampton Roads, Va. Lieut. (jg) Eugene V. Jobe, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Ernest C. Aulls, MC, USN Fourth Corps Area, Atlanta, Ga.: Marine Barracks, Parris Island, S.C. Lieut. (jg) Earl F. Evans, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) William V. Clark, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Joseph G. Schnebly, MC, USN Naval Hospital, Parris Island, S.C. Lieut. (jg) Alvin R. Carpenter, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Daniel C. Corriher, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Otto L. Burton, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Edward E. Evans, MC, USN Naval Hospital, Charleston, S.C. Lieut. (jg) Robert R. Leamer, MC, USN Naval Hospital, Pensacola, Fla. Lieut. (jg) Hubert J. Van Peenen, MC, USN Sixth Corps Area, Chicago, Ill.: Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, III. Lieut. (jg) Roger R. Olson, MC, USN Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, III. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN George B. T. Ribble Francis K. Smith Charles D. Bell Gabriel E. Obester Charles R. Moon Edgar Ricen Ferrell H. Johnson Guy E. Stahr William S. Cann Carl H. McMillan John P. Wood DeCoy Marchand William E. Walsh Thomas J. Carter Clark W. Virtue Tilden I. Moe Charles E. Fitzgerald Cecil C. Welch Leland J. Belding Harold G. Young Ninth Corps Area, San Francisco, Calif.: Naval Training Station, San Diego, Calif. Lieut. (jg) Ernest M. Wade, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Jack R. George, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Harold L. Weaver, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) John L. Enyart, MC, USN Naval Air Station, San Diego, Calif. Lieut. (jg) Burt O. Wade, MC, USN Marine Corps Base, San Diego, Calif. Lieut. (jg) George W. Dickinson, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Carl K. Youngkin, MC, USN Naval Dispensary, San Pedro, Calif. Lieut. (jg) Morris M. Rubin, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Arthur F. Gardner, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Melville D. Dickinson, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Carey M. Smith, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) George W. Wright, MC, USN Naval Hospital, San Diego, Calif. Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, III. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN Ralph D. Handen Leslie D. Ekvall John H. Ward, Jr. Kenneth W. Eikenberry James J. Sapero Paul M. Hoot James R. Sayers Milton R. Wirthlin James J. V. Cammisa James D. Boone William R. Whiteford Thomas G. Hays Ralph C. Boren Louis E. Gilje Louis M. Harris Naval Hospital, Mare Island, Calif. Lieutenants (jg) MC, USN Willard M. Gobbell William H. L. Collis James A. Price Clifford M. Hughes Oscar Schneider Edgar J. Easley Benjamin N. Ahl Anselm C. Hohn Omar J. Brown Courtney G. Clegg Hubert H. Carroll Navy Yard, Puget Sound, Wash. Lieut. (jg) Marcy Shupp, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Stephen E. Flynn, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Paul Vaughnn Naval Hospital, Puget Sound, Wash. Lieut. (jg) Lewis T. Dorgan, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Elbert F. Penry, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Thomas W. McDaniel, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Julian M. Jordan, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) O. Henry Alexander, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) George A. Cann, MC, USN Lieut. (jg) Farra L. Read, MC, USN These officers shall be called by the Secretary of War in accordance with the needs for hospitalization and medical attendance of the Civilian Conservation Corps. In the issuance of orders to report for duty, naval medical officers shall be given priority over members of the Army Medical Corps Reserve and Navy Medical Corps Reserve and contract physicians. When these officers report for duty, they shall be placed upon the payrolls of the Civilian Conservation Corps and shall be paid from funds allocated to the Director of Emergency Conservation Work by Executive Order No. 6101 dated April 5, 1933. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, May 13, 1933.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

Revokes Executive Order 6147—Emergency Conservation Work Upon Indian Reservations
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1933-05-26
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 6131 (May 13, 1933), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6131-relief-unemployment-through-the-performance-useful-public-work.