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Executive Order 6868 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 6868—Designating the Authority to Carry Out the Provisions of the District of Columbia Alley Dwelling Act

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Tuesday, October 9, 1934
•
2 min read (318 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (318 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

I hereby designate the following-named officials as the Authority to carry out the provisions of the said act, with the title "The Alley Dwelling Authority": The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia; The executive officer of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission; The Director of Housing of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works.

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
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners 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 October 9, 1934, this order concerns Designating the Authority to Carry Out the Provisions of the District of Columbia Alley Dwelling Act. I hereby designate the following-named officials as the Authority to carry out the provisions of the said act, with the title "The Alley Dwelling Authority": The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia; The executive officer of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission; The Director of Housing of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works.

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 hereby designate the following-named officials as the Authority to carry out the provisions of the said act, with the title "The Alley Dwelling Authority": The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia; The executive officer of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission; The Director of Housing of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works.

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The Authority shall elect a chairman and such other officers as it may deem advisable.

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The executive officer, hereinafter referred to, shall act as secretary.

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The Authority shall have and possess all powers necessary or appropriate for carrying out the provisions of the said act and this order, and it is hereby authorized to make all rules and regulations necessary for such purpose.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Housing 🏷️ 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)
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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

"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.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
40 / 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

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Low Friction

Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.

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 within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

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
318
1,989 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.8
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the District of Columbia Alley Dwelling Act, approved June 12, 1934 (Public, No. 307, 73d Cong.), I hereby designate the following-named officials as the Authority to carry out the provisions of the said act, with the title "The Alley Dwelling Authority": The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia; The executive officer of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission; The Director of Housing of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. The Authority shall elect a chairman and such other officers as it may deem advisable. The executive officer, hereinafter referred to, shall act as secretary. The Authority shall have and possess all powers necessary or appropriate for carrying out the provisions of the said act and this order, and it is hereby authorized to make all rules and regulations necessary for such purpose. The Authority shall appoint an executive officer, who shall not be a member of the Authority, and whose appointment may be made without regard to the provisions of the Civil Service Act and Rules, and shall prescribe his duties and responsibilities. The Authority shall submit an annual report to the President. There is hereby made available to the Authority for its lawful uses from the allocation made from the appropriation to carry out the purposes of the National Industrial Recovery Act, contained in the Fourth Deficiency Act, fiscal year 1933, and now carried under the title "National Industrial Recovery, Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, Housing, 1933-35", symbol 03/5666, the sum of $500,000 of any amount thereof designated for low-cost housing and slum-clearance projects in the District of Columbia, and the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed to set aside this amount in the Treasury and designate it as the "Conversion of Inhabited Alleys Fund". FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, October 9, 1934.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (6)

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

Amends Executive Order 11571—Modifying Executive Order No. 6868 of October 9, 1934, as Amended, Designating the Authority to Carry out the Provisions of the District of Columbia Alley Dwelling Act
Richard Nixon • 1970-12-08
Amends Executive Order 11401—Modifying Executive Order No. 6868 of October 9, 1934, as Amended, Designating the Authority to Carry Out the Provisions of the District of Columbia Alley Dwelling Act
Lyndon B. Johnson • 1968-03-13
Amends Executive Order 10128—Amendment of Executive Order No. 6868 of October 9, 1934, as Amended, Designating Members of the National Capital Housing Authority
Harry S Truman • 1950-06-02
Amends Executive Order 9916—Amendment of Executive Order No. 6868 of October 9, 1934, as Amended, Designating Members of the National Capital Housing Authority
Harry S Truman • 1947-12-31
Amends Executive Order 9344—Changing the Name of the Alley Dwelling Authority to National Capital Housing Authority
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1943-05-21
References Executive Order 8033—Designating the Director of Planning of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission as a Member of the Alley Dwelling Authority
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1939-01-11
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 6868 (Oct. 9, 1934), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6868-designating-the-authority-carry-out-the-provisions-the-district.