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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 6134 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 6134—Amendment of Schedules A and B, Civil-Service Rules, Positions Under Farm Credit Administration

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Thursday, May 18, 1933
•
1 min read (185 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 1 min read (185 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Schedule A of the civil-service rules is hereby amended as follows: Substitute the designation "FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION" for "FEDERAL FARM BOARD" under subdivision XXI, and add the following paragraphs: 1.

View all 2 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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 18, 1933, this order concerns Amendment of Schedules A and B, Civil-Service Rules, Positions Under Farm Credit Administration. Schedule A of the civil-service rules is hereby amended as follows: Substitute the designation "FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION" for "FEDERAL FARM BOARD" under subdivision XXI, and add the following paragraphs: 1. Private secretary or confidential clerk each to the three Deputy Governors, the General Counsel, the five Commissioners, and the heads of six major divisions. 2.

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Schedule A of the civil-service rules is hereby amended as follows: Substitute the designation "FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION" for "FEDERAL FARM BOARD" under subdivision XXI, and add the following paragraphs: 1.

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Not exceeding eight positions in the immediate office of the Governor in addition to the private secretary excepted under subdivision I of schedule A. ————— Schedule B of the civil-service rules is amended by substituting the designation "FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION" for the designation "FEDERAL FARM BOARD " under subdivision XII. ————— Incumbents of positions in the organizations transferred to the Farm Credit Administration by the Executive order of March 27, 1933, who do not already possess a competitive classified civil-service status shall not acquire such status by reason of such transfer, except upon recommendation to the Civil Service Commission by the Governor of the Farm Credit Administration, subject to such noncompetitive tests…

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Agriculture 🏷️ Government Operations & Civil Service
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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 1 (Maximum Authority)
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"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

"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: Supportive of Execution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)

Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.

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
36 / 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

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

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

Low Friction

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

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

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%).
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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
185
1,230 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.2
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

Schedule A of the civil-service rules is hereby amended as follows: Substitute the designation "FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION" for "FEDERAL FARM BOARD" under subdivision XXI, and add the following paragraphs: 1. Private secretary or confidential clerk each to the three Deputy Governors, the General Counsel, the five Commissioners, and the heads of six major divisions. 2. Not exceeding eight positions in the immediate office of the Governor in addition to the private secretary excepted under subdivision I of schedule A. ————— Schedule B of the civil-service rules is amended by substituting the designation "FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION" for the designation "FEDERAL FARM BOARD " under subdivision XII. ————— Incumbents of positions in the organizations transferred to the Farm Credit Administration by the Executive order of March 27, 1933, who do not already possess a competitive classified civil-service status shall not acquire such status by reason of such transfer, except upon recommendation to the Civil Service Commission by the Governor of the Farm Credit Administration, subject to such noncompetitive tests of fitness as the Civil Service Commission may prescribe. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, May 18, 1933.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

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

References Executive Order 6758—Including Positions in the Farm Credit Administration in the Classified Civil Service
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1934-06-29
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 6134 (May 18, 1933), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6134-amendment-schedules-and-b-civil-service-rules-positions-under-farm.