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Executive Order 6409 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 6409—Transfer of Lands from and to the Ashley and Wasatch National Forests, Utah and Wyoming

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Tuesday, November 7, 1933
•
2 min read (388 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (388 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

There be, and there is hereby, transferred from the Wasatch National Forest as defined by proclamation of June 30, 1929 (46 Stat. 3003), to the Ashley National Forest as defined by proclamation of October 7, 1910 (36 Stat. 2750), and modified by proclamations of November 26, 1917 (40 Stat. 1718), May 3, 1926 (44 Stat. 2611), April 2, 1930 (46 Stat. 3017), and February 18, 1933 (47 Stat. 2555), and the act of January 26, 1931 (46 Stat. 1040), lands lying to the eastward of the following-described line: Beginning at a point on the present boundary of the Wasatch National Forest near the northwest comer of T. 4 N., R. 5 W., Uinta special meridian, where the hydrographic divide between Little East Fork of Black's Creek on the west and the…

View all 3 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
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 November 7, 1933, this order concerns Transfer of Lands from and to the Ashley and Wasatch National Forests, Utah and Wyoming. There be, and there is hereby, transferred from the Wasatch National Forest as defined by proclamation of June 30, 1929 (46 Stat. 3003), to the Ashley National Forest as defined by proclamation of October 7, 1910 (36 Stat. 2750), and modified by proclamations of November 26, 1917 (40 Stat. 1718), May 3, 1926 (44 Stat. 2611), April 2, 1930 (46 Stat. 3017), and February 18, 1933 (47 Stat. 2555), and the act of…

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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There be, and there is hereby, transferred from the Wasatch National Forest as defined by proclamation of June 30, 1929 (46 Stat. 3003), to the Ashley National Forest as defined by proclamation of October 7, 1910 (36 Stat. 2750), and modified by proclamations of November 26, 1917 (40 Stat. 1718), May 3, 1926 (44 Stat. 2611), April 2, 1930 (46 Stat. 3017), and February 18, 1933 (47 Stat. 2555), and the act of January 26, 1931 (46 Stat. 1040), lands lying to the eastward of the following-described line: Beginning at a point on the present boundary of the Wasatch National Forest near the northwest comer of T. 4 N., R. 5 W., Uinta special meridian, where the hydrographic divide between Little East Fork of Black's Creek on the west and the…

▪

It is further ordered that there be, and there is hereby, transferred from the Ashley National Forest to the Wasatch National Forest all lands lying to the westward of a line beginning at a point on the Utah-Wyoming State boundary line near the northwest comer of sec. 14, T. 3 N., R. 13 E., Salt Lake meridian, where the hydrographic divide between Smith's Fork on the west and Gilbert Creek on the east intersects said point; thence northeasterly along said hydrographic divide to the point where it intersects the present north boundary of the Ashley National Forest on the north line of sec. 31, T. 13 N., R. 115 W., sixth principal meridian.

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The transfers effected hereby are more clearly shown on the map attached hereto and hereby made a part of this order.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Agriculture
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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.

🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
23 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

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

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 in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.

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
388
2,231 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
10.5
High School
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 11, 36; U.S.C., title 16, sec. 473), and upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture, it is hereby ordered that there be, and there is hereby, transferred from the Wasatch National Forest as defined by proclamation of June 30, 1929 (46 Stat. 3003), to the Ashley National Forest as defined by proclamation of October 7, 1910 (36 Stat. 2750), and modified by proclamations of November 26, 1917 (40 Stat. 1718), May 3, 1926 (44 Stat. 2611), April 2, 1930 (46 Stat. 3017), and February 18, 1933 (47 Stat. 2555), and the act of January 26, 1931 (46 Stat. 1040), lands lying to the eastward of the following-described line: Beginning at a point on the present boundary of the Wasatch National Forest near the northwest comer of T. 4 N., R. 5 W., Uinta special meridian, where the hydrographic divide between Little East Fork of Black's Creek on the west and the East Fork of Smith Creek on the east intersects said boundary; thence northerly along the hydrographic divide between the two above-mentioned creeks and keeping to the eastward of the West Fork of Smith Creek to the point where said hydrographic divide intersects the Utah-Wyoming State line. It is further ordered that there be, and there is hereby, transferred from the Ashley National Forest to the Wasatch National Forest all lands lying to the westward of a line beginning at a point on the Utah-Wyoming State boundary line near the northwest comer of sec. 14, T. 3 N., R. 13 E., Salt Lake meridian, where the hydrographic divide between Smith's Fork on the west and Gilbert Creek on the east intersects said point; thence northeasterly along said hydrographic divide to the point where it intersects the present north boundary of the Ashley National Forest on the north line of sec. 31, T. 13 N., R. 115 W., sixth principal meridian. The transfers effected hereby are more clearly shown on the map attached hereto and hereby made a part of this order. It is not intended by this order to give any lands a national-forest status which hitherto have not had such status, or to remove any lands from a national-forest status. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, November 7, 1933.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 6409 (Nov. 7, 1933), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6409-transfer-lands-from-and-the-ashley-and-wasatch-national-forests-utah.