By virtue of the authority vested in me 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 Congress), Executive Order No. 6131, dated May 12, 1933, is hereby revoked, and supplementing Executive Order No. 6101, dated April 5, 1933, and Executive Order No. 6106-A, dated April 10, 1933, it is hereby ordered that: (1) There is hereby established in the Treasury a fund of $5,875,200 by transfer of an equal amount from the unobligated balances of the appropriation for the Emergency Construction of Public Buildings contained in the Act approved July 21, 1932, as authorized by Section 4 of the Act approved March 31, 1933, which fund shall be subject to requisition by Robert Fechner, Director of Emergency Conservation Work, on the approval of the President, and shall be available for expenditure in the accomplishment of the purposes specified in said act of March 31, 1933, on tribal or other lands within Indian reservations. (2) Funds authorized by the President for the operation of Conservation Work on Indian reservations will be transferred by the Treasury Department to the credit of the Interior Department and shall be withdrawn on requisition by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for disbursement through the bonded disbursing agent of each particular jurisdiction, and separate pay rolls and accounts with supporting vouchers shall be maintained by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, May 26 1933.
Executive Order 6147—Emergency Conservation Work Upon Indian Reservations
Executive Brief • At a Glance
There is hereby established in the Treasury a fund of $5,875,200 by transfer of an equal amount from the unobligated balances of the appropriation for the Emergency Construction of Public Buildings contained in the Act approved July 21, 1932, as authorized by Section 4 of the Act approved March 31, 1933, which fund shall be subject to requisition by Robert Fechner, Director of Emergency Conservation Work, on the approval of the President, and shall be available for expenditure in the accomplishment of the purposes specified in said act of March 31, 1933, on tribal or other lands within Indian reservations.
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 26, 1933, this order concerns Emergency Conservation Work Upon Indian Reservations. (1) There is hereby established in the Treasury a fund of $5,875,200 by transfer of an equal amount from the unobligated balances of the appropriation for the Emergency Construction of Public Buildings contained in the Act approved July 21, 1932, as authorized by Section 4 of the Act approved March 31, 1933, which fund shall be subject to requisition by Robert Fechner, Director of Emergency Conservation Work, on…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
There is hereby established in the Treasury a fund of $5,875,200 by transfer of an equal amount from the unobligated balances of the appropriation for the Emergency Construction of Public Buildings contained in the Act approved July 21, 1932, as authorized by Section 4 of the Act approved March 31, 1933, which fund shall be subject to requisition by Robert Fechner, Director of Emergency Conservation Work, on the approval of the President, and shall be available for expenditure in the accomplishment of the purposes specified in said act of March 31, 1933, on tribal or other lands within Indian reservations.
Funds authorized by the President for the operation of Conservation Work on Indian reservations will be transferred by the Treasury Department to the credit of the Interior Department and shall be withdrawn on requisition by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for disbursement through the bonded disbursing agent of each particular jurisdiction, and separate pay rolls and accounts with supporting vouchers shall be maintained by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
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.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 6147 (May 26, 1933), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6147-emergency-conservation-work-upon-indian-reservations.