By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and in particular by section 8 of the act entitled "An Act to create a Federal Trade Commission, to define its powers and duties, and for other purposes", approved September 26, 1914 (ch. 311, 38 Stat. 717, 722), I hereby order and direct the Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, upon request of the Federal Trade Commission, to furnish to the Federal Trade Commission for use in connection with the Milk inquiry under H. Con. Res. 32, 73d Congress, 2nd Session, such records, papers, information, forms, audits, files, documents, memoranda and data which are, or which my hereafter be, in their knowledge or possession or the knowledge or possession of either of them in respect of the purchase, sale, processing and distribution of milk and other dairy products, and in respect of the organization, business, conduct, history, practices, finances, purchases and sales of any company or association, incorporated or unincorporated, which is organized to carry on business for profit and has shares of capital or capital stock, and any company or association, incorporated or unincorporated, without shares of capital or capital stock, except partnerships, which is organized to carry on business for its own profit or that of its members, engaged in the handling of milk or other dairy products in interstate commerce. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, September 3, 1934.
Executive Order 6839—Direction to Make Available to the Federal Trade Commission Information Requested by It as to the Dairy Industry
Executive Brief • At a Glance
The Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, upon request of the Federal Trade Commission, to furnish to the Federal Trade Commission for use in connection with the Milk inquiry under H. Con.
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 September 3, 1934, this order concerns Direction to Make Available to the Federal Trade Commission Information Requested by It as to the Dairy Industry. The Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, upon request of the Federal Trade Commission, to furnish to the Federal Trade Commission for use in connection with the Milk inquiry under H. Con.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
The Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, upon request of the Federal Trade Commission, to furnish to the Federal Trade Commission for use in connection with the Milk inquiry under H. Con.
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 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
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
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
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.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 6839 (Sept. 3, 1934), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6839-direction-make-available-the-federal-trade-commission-information.