Whereas it is deemed desirable and in the public interest that a comprehensive survey and study of our national land problems be made for the purposes of (1) improving practices in land utilization, (2) better balancing our agricultural production, (3) aiding in the solution of human problems in land use, and (4) developing a national land program; and Whereas it is necessary and expedient that a committee be created to make such survey and study; Now, Therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, there is hereby created a committee which shall be known as "the Committee on National Land Problems." The members of the Committee shall be appointed by the President, and it shall be composed of one representative of each of the following: Department of the Interior Department of Agriculture Federal Emergency Relief Administration The Committee shall act in a capacity advisory to the President, and its members shall serve without compensation. The Committee shall perform such functions and duties as may be necessary and as the President may prescribe to effectuate the purposes for which it is created. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, April 28, 1934.
Executive Order 6693—Creation of the Committee on National Land Problems
Executive Brief • At a Glance
There is hereby created a committee which shall be known as "the Committee on National Land Problems." The members of the Committee shall be appointed by the President, and it shall be composed of one representative of each of the following: Department of the Interior Department of Agriculture Federal Emergency Relief Administration The Committee shall act in a capacity advisory to the President, and its members shall serve without compensation.
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 April 28, 1934, this order concerns Creation of the Committee on National Land Problems. There is hereby created a committee which shall be known as "the Committee on National Land Problems." The members of the Committee shall be appointed by the President, and it shall be composed of one representative of each of the following: Department of the Interior Department of Agriculture Federal Emergency Relief Administration The Committee shall act in a capacity advisory to the President, and its members…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
There is hereby created a committee which shall be known as "the Committee on National Land Problems." The members of the Committee shall be appointed by the President, and it shall be composed of one representative of each of the following: Department of the Interior Department of Agriculture Federal Emergency Relief Administration The Committee shall act in a capacity advisory to the President, and its members shall serve without compensation.
The Committee shall perform such functions and duties as may be necessary and as the President may prescribe to effectuate the purposes for which it is created.
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 in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
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.
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.
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
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 6693 (Apr. 28, 1934), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6693-creation-the-committee-national-land-problems.