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Executive Order 6560 ⚖️⚠️ Zone 3: Lowest Ebb Constitutional Friction / Overreach (-0.19) 📜 Art. I §8: Legislative Prerogative Tension (Purse & Commerce)

Executive Order 6560—Regulating Transactions in Foreign Exchange, Transfers of Credit, and the Export of Coin and Currency

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Monday, January 15, 1934
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5 min read (926 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 5 min read (926 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do declare that a period of national emergency continues to exist, and by virtue of said authority and of all other authority vested in me, do hereby prescribe the following regulations for the investigation, regulation, and prolubition of transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit between or payments by banking institutions as herein defined, and export of currency or silver coin, by any person within the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof: Section 1.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️⚠️ Zone 3: Lowest Ebb
Incompatible with Expressed Will of Congress or High Friction
📜 Art. I §8: Legislative Prerogative Tension (Purse & Commerce)
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Foreign Nations & International Entities Public Health & Medical Institutions Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

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 Regulating Transactions in Foreign Exchange, Transfers of Credit, and the Export of Coin and Currency. I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do declare that a period of national emergency continues to exist, and by virtue of said authority and of all other authority vested in me, do hereby prescribe the following regulations for the investigation, regulation, and prolubition of transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit between or payments by banking institutions as herein…

Constitutional Assessment: An early statesman would subject this decree to rigorous scrutiny under Article I, Section 8. The Framers deliberately committed commerce, taxation, tariffs, and revenue to Congress alone. To the extent this order imposes duties or financial burdens without explicit statutory pre-authorization, it creates friction with the separation of powers.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do declare that a period of national emergency continues to exist, and by virtue of said authority and of all other authority vested in me, do hereby prescribe the following regulations for the investigation, regulation, and prolubition of transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit between or payments by banking institutions as herein defined, and export of currency or silver coin, by any person within the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof: Section 1.

▪

Every transaction in foreign exchange, transfer of credit between any banking institution within the United States and any banking institution outside of the United States (including any principal, agent, home office, branch, or correspondent outside of the United States of a banking institution within the United States), and the export or withdrawal from the United States of any currency or silver coin which is legal tender in the United States, by any person within the United States, is hereby prohibited, except under license therefor issued pursuant to tliis Executive order: Provided, however , That, except as prohibited under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, foreign exchange transactions and transfers of credit…

▪

Possessions of the United States .—Except as prohibited in regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, transfers of credit between banking institutions in the continental United States and banldng institutions in other places subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (including principals, agents, home offices, branches, or correspondents in such other places, of banking institutions within the continental United States), may be carried out without a license.

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Licenses .—The Secretary of the Treasury, acting directly or through any agencies that ho may designate, and the Federal Reserve banks acting in accordance with such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may from time to time prescribe, arc hereby designated as agencies for the granting of licenses as hereinafter provided.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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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 3 (Lowest Ebb)
§

"When the President takes measures incompatible with the expressed or implied will of Congress, his power is at its lowest ebb."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Incompatible with Expressed Will of Congress or High Friction
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands... may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." — Federalist No. 47 (1788)

Madison would express grave alarm over this order. By asserting independent authority in tension with legislative limits or the Bill of Rights, the Executive risks collapsing the separation of powers into unilateral rule. Under the Madisonian model, no emergency justifies the Executive substituting its decree for a deliberative Act of Congress.

Madisonian Stance: Strict Dissent (Overreach)
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: Qualified Caution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)

George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Vehement Objection
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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.

⚠️ Elevated Constitutional Friction
72 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

High Friction

Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

High Friction

Invokes broad unilateral or emergency executive authorities that test the constitutional boundary of the Take Care Clause.

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

High Friction

The order asserts independent Article II prerogative against statutory constraints, reallocates funds without explicit appropriation, or stretches executive power into realms constitutionally reserved to the legislature or judiciary.

Benchmark: Incompatible with Expressed Will of Congress or High Friction
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This directive engages significant constitutional friction across statutory authorization, legislative prerogatives, or individual liberties.

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
926
5,912 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
29.8
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
-0.19
Constitutional Friction / Overreach
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (8 sections)

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 section 2 of the act of March 9, 1933, entitled "An Act to provide relief in the existing national emergency in banking and for other purposes", I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do declare that a period of national emergency continues to exist, and by virtue of said authority and of all other authority vested in me, do hereby prescribe the following regulations for the investigation, regulation, and prolubition of transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit between or payments by banking institutions as herein defined, and export of currency or silver coin, by any person within the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof:

Section 1. #sec-1

Every transaction in foreign exchange, transfer of credit between any banking institution within the United States and any banking institution outside of the United States (including any principal, agent, home office, branch, or correspondent outside of the United States of a banking institution within the United States), and the export or withdrawal from the United States of any currency or silver coin which is legal tender in the United States, by any person within the United States, is hereby prohibited, except under license therefor issued pursuant to tliis Executive order: Provided, however , That, except as prohibited under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, foreign exchange transactions and transfers of credit may bo carried out without a license for (a) normal commercial or business requirements, (b) reasonable traveling and other personal requirements, or (c) the fulfillment of legally enforceable obligations incurred prior to March 9, 1933.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Possessions of the United States .—Except as prohibited in regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, transfers of credit between banking institutions in the continental United States and banldng institutions in other places subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (including principals, agents, home offices, branches, or correspondents in such other places, of banking institutions within the continental United States), may be carried out without a license.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Licenses .—The Secretary of the Treasury, acting directly or through any agencies that ho may designate, and the Federal Reserve banks acting in accordance with such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may from time to time prescribe, arc hereby designated as agencies for the granting of licenses as hereinafter provided. Licenses may be granted authoiizing such transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit, and exports of currency (other than gold certificates) or silver coin in such specific cases or classes of cases as the Secretary of the Treasury may determine in regulations prescribed hereunder and rulings made pursuant thereto.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Reports .—The Federal Reserve banks shall keep themselves currently informed as to foreign exchange transactions entered into or consummated, and transfers of credit made between banking institutions outside of the continental United States and banking institutions, in their districts, and report to the Secretary of the Treasury all transactions in foreign exchange and all such transfers of credit not permitted under sections 1 or 2 hereof which arc effected or attempted in their districts without a license.

Sec. 5. #sec-5

Regulations .-—The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and empowered to prescribe from time to time regulations to carry out the purposes of this order, and to provide in such regulations or by rulings made pursuant thereto, the conditions under which licenses may be granted by the Federal Reserve banks and by such other agencies as the Secretary of the Treasury may designate; and the Secretary of the Treasury may require any person engaged in any transaction, transfer, export, or withdrawal referred to in this Executive order to furnish under oath complete information relative thereto, including the production of any books of account, contracts, letters, or other papers, in connection therewith in the custody or control of such person either before or after such transaction, transfer, export, or withdrawal is completed.

Sec. 6. #sec-6

Penalties .—Whoever willfully violates or knowingly participates in the violation of any provision of tins Executive order or of any license, order, rule, or regulation issued or prescribed hereunder, shall be subject to the penalties provided in section 5 (6) of the act of October G, 1917, as amended by section 2 of the act of March 9, 1933.

Sec. 7. #sec-7

Definitions .—As used in this Executive order the term "United States" means the United States and any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof; the term "continental United States" means the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Territory of Alaska; the term "person" means an individual, partnership, association, or corporation; and the term "banking institution" includes any person engaged primarily or incidentally in the business of banking, of granting or transferring credits, or of purchasing and selling foreign exchange or procuring purchasers and sellers thereof, as principal or agent; and, for the purposes of this order, each home office, branch, principal, agent, or correspondent of any person so engaged shall be regarded as a separate "banking institution".

Sec. 8. #sec-8

Section 8 of the Executive order of August 28, 1933, relating to the hoarding, export, and earmarking of gold coin, bullion, or currency and to transactions in foreign exchange, is hereby revoked. This Executive order and any rules, regulations, or licenses prescribed or issued hereunder may be modified or revoked at any time. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, January 15, 1934.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (5)

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

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 6560 (Jan. 15, 1934), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6560-regulating-transactions-foreign-exchange-transfers-credit-and-the.