By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Act of June 23, 1934, (Public No. 461, 73rd Congress), it is hereby ordered that a corporation of the District of Columbia be and is hereby created, said corporation to be named as FEDERAL PRISON INDUSTRIES, INC. 1. The governing body of said corporation shall consist of a board of five directors to hold office at the pleasure of the President. The following persons shall constitute the first Board of Directors: Mr. Sanford Bates Mr. Thomas A. Rickert Hon. John B. Miller Dr. M. L. Brittain Mr. Sam A. Lewisohn 2. The principal office of said corporation shall be in the City of Washington, District of Columbia, but the corporation shall have power and authority to establish such other offices or agencies as it may deem necessary or appropriate. 3. The said corporation shall have power to determine in what manner and to what extent industrial operations shall be carried on in the several penal and correctional institutions of the United States and shall, so far as practicable, so diversify prison industrial operations that no single private industry shall be forced to bear an undue burden of competition with the products of the prison workshops. It shall also have power to do all things it is authorized to do by the said Act of June 23, 1934, and all things incident to or necessary or proper in the exercise of its functions. 4. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 4 of the said Act, the Secretary of the Treasury is directed to transfer to a fund to be known as "the Prison Industries Fund" all balances standing to the credit of the Prison Industries Working Capital Fund on the books of the Treasury and the corporation is authorized to employ the aforesaid fund, and any earnings that may hereafter accrue to the corporation, as operating capital. 5. The Attorney General is directed to transfer to the corporation hereby created all personal property, assets, accounts receivable, and equipment of any and every kind now under the jurisdiction of the Industrial Division of the Bureau of Prisons of the Department of Justice. 6. The corporation shall assume all valid claims and obligations now payable out of the Prison Industries Working Capital Fund. 7. Said corporation shall have power to sue and be sued. 8. Any vacancies occurring in the membership of the Board of Directors shall be filled by the President of the United States. 9. The heads of the several executive departments, independent establishments and Government owned and Government controlled corporations shall cooperate with the corporation in carrying out its duties and shall purchase, at not to exceed current market prices, the products or services of said industries, to the extent required or permitted by law. 10. All powers and duties vested in the Attorney General and not specifically transferred to the corporation by said Act of June 23, 1934, or by this Executive Order and assumed by said corporation, shall remain vested in the Attorney General or his duly qualified representatives as heretofore. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, December 11, 1934.
Executive Order 6917 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Executive Order 6917—Creating a Body Corporate to be Known as Federal Prison Industries, Inc.
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 3 min read (522 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
A corporation of the District of Columbia be and is hereby created, said corporation to be named as FEDERAL PRISON INDUSTRIES, INC. 1.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners 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 December 11, 1934, this order concerns Creating a Body Corporate to be Known as Federal Prison Industries, Inc. A corporation of the District of Columbia be and is hereby created, said corporation to be named as FEDERAL PRISON INDUSTRIES, INC. 1. The governing body of said corporation shall consist of a board of five directors to hold office at the pleasure of the President. The following persons shall constitute the first Board of Directors: Mr. Sanford Bates Mr. Thomas A. Rickert Hon.
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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A corporation of the District of Columbia be and is hereby created, said corporation to be named as FEDERAL PRISON INDUSTRIES, INC. 1.
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The governing body of said corporation shall consist of a board of five directors to hold office at the pleasure of the President.
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The following persons shall constitute the first Board of Directors: Mr. Sanford Bates Mr. Thomas A. Rickert Hon.
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The principal office of said corporation shall be in the City of Washington, District of Columbia, but the corporation shall have power and authority to establish such other offices or agencies as it may deem necessary or appropriate. 3.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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.
🏛️✅ 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
📐
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
Moderate Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
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
Moderate Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
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
Low Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
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%).
ℹ️
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
522
3,113 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.1
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1935-02-04
Related Executive Orders
Other executive actions signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt around this period.
EO 6919 Dec 12, 1934
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6919—Exemption of T. Warren Allen From Compulsory Retirement for Age
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Exempt T. Warren Allen from the provisions thereof and continue him in the service until January 1, 1936.
Franklin D. Roosevelt College Level • 1m
EO 6918 Dec 12, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6918—Amendment of Executive Order No. 3206, of December 30, 1919, Creating the Board of Surveys and Maps
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order No. 3206, of December 30, 1919, creating the Board of Surveys and Maps, as amended, is hereby further amended by adding the Tennessee Valley Authority to the list of organizations entitled to membership on said Board.
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 1m
EO 6920 Dec 13, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6920—Excusing Federal Employees From Duty at 1 P.M. on December 24 and at 1 P.M. on December 31, 1934
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
The several executive departments, independent establishments and other government agencies in the District of Columbia, including the Government Printing Office and the Navy Yard and stations, be closed at 1 P.M. on Monday, December 24, 1934, the day preceding Christmas Day…
Franklin D. Roosevelt College Level • 1m
EO 6920 Dec 14, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6920-A—Dismissal of Complaint Under Section 3 (e) of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act with Respect to Imports of Menthol
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
A complaint under Section 3 (e) of the National Industrial Recovery Act, addressed to me by Davies and Ten Eyck of Burbank, California, has been filed with the National Recovery Administration alleging that menthol is being imported into the United States on such terms or under…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 6920 Dec 14, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6920-C—Approving Agreement Between Members of the Division of the Painting, Paperhanging and Decorating Division of the Construction Industry and Painter, Paperhanger and Decorator Employees in the Township of Greenwich, Connecticut, Excepting That Portion of East Port Chester Lying West of a Line Drawn Through Byram Road Running South From North Water Street to Byram Park
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
The said Agreement is hereby approved. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT Approval recommended: NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY BOARD By W. A. HARRIMAN Administrative Officer The White House, Dec 14, 1934.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 6920 Dec 14, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6920-B—Dismissal of Complaint Under Section 3(e) of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act With Respect to Imports of Quebracho Tanning Extract
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
A complaint under Section 3(e) of the National Industrial Recovery Act, addressed to me by the Code Authority of the Tanning Extract Industry, has been filed with the National Recovery Administration alleging that quebracho tanning extract is being imported into the United…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 6917 (Dec. 11, 1934), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6917-creating-body-corporate-be-known-federal-prison-industries-inc.
