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Executive Order 6559 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 6559—Amending the Executive Order of March 10, 1933, and the Proclamation of December 30, 1933, Concerning the Operation of Banks

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Monday, January 15, 1934
•
2 min read (460 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (460 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do hereby issue the following Executive order: Section 1.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Foreign Nations & International Entities Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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 January 15, 1934, this order concerns Amending the Executive Order of March 10, 1933, and the Proclamation of December 30, 1933, Concerning the Operation of Banks. I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do hereby issue the following Executive order: Section 1. The last two paragraphs of the Executive order of March 10, 1933, concerning the operation of banks, are amended, effective from the date of this order, by striking out the following: "nor to engage in any transaction in foreign exchange except such as may be undertaken for legitimate and…

Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do hereby issue the following Executive order: Section 1.

▪

The last two paragraphs of the Executive order of March 10, 1933, concerning the operation of banks, are amended, effective from the date of this order, by striking out the following: "nor to engage in any transaction in foreign exchange except such as may be undertaken for legitimate and normal business requirements, for reasonable traveling and other personal requirements, and for the fulfillment of contracts entered into prior to March 6, 1933.

▪

"Every Federal Reserve bank is authorized and instructed to keep itself currently mformed as to transactions in foreign exchange entered into or consummated within its district and shall report to the Secretary of the Treasury all transactions in foreign exchange which are prohibited." The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to amend the licenses heretofore issued with his approval by the Federal Reserve banks under the Executive order of March 10, 1933, by issuing through the Federal Reserve banks amendatory licenses removing the restriction upon transactions in foreign exchange contained in the licenses heretofore issued.

▪

The proclamation of December 30, 1933, relating to the licensing of banking institutions which are not members of the Federal Reserve System, is Amended, effective from the date of this order, by striking out the following: "nor to engage in any transaction in foreign exchange except such as may be undertaken for legitimate and normal business requirements, for reasonable traveling and other Personal requirements, and for the fulfillment of contracts entered into prior to March 6, 1933." Sec. 3.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Economy & Finance
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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)
§

"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

"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: Supportive of Execution
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.

🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
27 / 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

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

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
460
2,802 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
24.6
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (3 sections)
Sec. 1Sec. 2Sec. 3

By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 5 (b) of the act of October 6, 1917 (40 Stat. L. 411), as amended by the act of March 9, 1933, and by section 4 of said act of March 9, 1933, and by virtue of all other authority vested in me, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do hereby issue the following Executive order:

Section 1. #sec-1

The last two paragraphs of the Executive order of March 10, 1933, concerning the operation of banks, are amended, effective from the date of this order, by striking out the following: "nor to engage in any transaction in foreign exchange except such as may be undertaken for legitimate and normal business requirements, for reasonable traveling and other personal requirements, and for the fulfillment of contracts entered into prior to March 6, 1933. "Every Federal Reserve bank is authorized and instructed to keep itself currently mformed as to transactions in foreign exchange entered into or consummated within its district and shall report to the Secretary of the Treasury all transactions in foreign exchange which are prohibited." The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to amend the licenses heretofore issued with his approval by the Federal Reserve banks under the Executive order of March 10, 1933, by issuing through the Federal Reserve banks amendatory licenses removing the restriction upon transactions in foreign exchange contained in the licenses heretofore issued.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

The proclamation of December 30, 1933, relating to the licensing of banking institutions which are not members of the Federal Reserve System, is Amended, effective from the date of this order, by striking out the following: "nor to engage in any transaction in foreign exchange except such as may be undertaken for legitimate and normal business requirements, for reasonable traveling and other Personal requirements, and for the fulfillment of contracts entered into prior to March 6, 1933."

Sec. 3. #sec-3

The amendment of such Executive order of March 10, 1933, or of any licenses issued thereunder; and the amendment of such proclamation of December 30, 1933, shall not affect any act done, or any order, decision, or finding made, or relieve any person from the consequences of any unauthorized act committed prior to the date of this Executive order; nor shall the amendment of the Executive order of March 10, 1933, or the proclamation of December 30, 1933, relieve any person from the obligation of complying with the terms of the Executive order of January 15, 1934, relating to the export of coin and currency and transactions in foreign exchange, or the regulations or licenses issued thereunder, or of any other provision of law affecting transactions in foreign exchange. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, January 15, 1934.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 6559 (Jan. 15, 1934), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6559-amending-the-executive-order-march-10-1933-and-the-proclamation.