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Executive Order 7164 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations

Executive Order 7164—Prescribing Rules and Regulations Relating to Student-Aid "Projects and to Employment of Youth on Other Projects Under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Thursday, August 29, 1935
•
2 min read (458 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (458 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Student-aid projects are hereby defined to be projects financed, in whole or in part, from funds appropriated by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, which provide financial assistance to needy young people in amounts which will permit them to continue their education at high schools, colleges, or graduate schools, in exchange for part-time work upon useful projects. 2.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Private Citizens & Property Owners Public Health & Medical Institutions
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 August 29, 1935, this order concerns Prescribing Rules and Regulations Relating to Student-Aid "Projects and to Employment of Youth on Other Projects Under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935. By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, approved April 8, 1935 (Public Resolutiop No. 11, 74th Congress), I hereby prescribe the following rules and regulations relating to student-aid projects and to employment of youth on other projects: 1. Definition of Student-Aid Projects.

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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Student-aid projects are hereby defined to be projects financed, in whole or in part, from funds appropriated by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, which provide financial assistance to needy young people in amounts which will permit them to continue their education at high schools, colleges, or graduate schools, in exchange for part-time work upon useful projects. 2.

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Student-aid projects shall be supervised by the National Youth Administration. 3.

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Recipients of student aid shall receive monthly payments, in the amounts hereinafter prescribed, for each month of the school year.

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Payments to high school students shall be at a rate not in excess of $6 per month for the school year.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Education 🏷️ Labor & Employment
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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 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§

"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."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM

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.

Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH

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.

Hamiltonian Stance: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
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
37 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

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

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

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

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

Moderate Friction

The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.

Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️ 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
458
2,806 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
10.8
High School
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

REGULATION NO. 7 By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, approved April 8, 1935 (Public Resolutiop No. 11, 74th Congress), I hereby prescribe the following rules and regulations relating to student-aid projects and to employment of youth on other projects: 1. Definition of Student-Aid Projects. Student-aid projects are hereby defined to be projects financed, in whole or in part, from funds appropriated by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, which provide financial assistance to needy young people in amounts which will permit them to continue their education at high schools, colleges, or graduate schools, in exchange for part-time work upon useful projects. 2. Supervision of Student-Aid Projects. Student-aid projects shall be supervised by the National Youth Administration. 3. Amount of Aid. Recipients of student aid shall receive monthly payments, in the amounts hereinafter prescribed, for each month of the school year. (a) Payments to high school students shall be at a rate not in excess of $6 per month for the school year. (b) Payments to college students shall not exceed an average of $15 per month for the school year and shall not exceed $20 in any month. (c) Payments to graduate students shall not exceed an average of $30 per month for the school year and shall not exceed $40 in any month. 4. Administration of Student-Aid Projects. Methods for the selection of eligible students to receive student aid, the character of the work to be performed by the recipients of student aid, and all conditions of employment shall be determined by, or under the direction of, the Executive Director of the National Youth Administration. 5. Employment of Youth on Projects. Young persons who are eligible for benefits under the National Youth Administration may be employed on projects supervised or administered by the Works Progress Administration. The monthly earnings to be paid to such young persons for work on such projects, the maximum and minimum number of hours of work, and the conditions of employment shall be determined by the Works Progress Adfhinistration: Provided, however, that the mon tidy earnings shall not exceed $25 per month. 6. Non-application of Regulations Nos. 1, 2, and 3. The provisions of Regulation No. 1 as amended (Executive Orders Nos. 7046, 7117, and 7119 of May 20, July 29, and July 30, 1935, respectively), Regulation No. 2 as amended (Executive Orders Nos. 7060 and 7125 of June 5 and August 5, 1935, respectively), and Regulation No. 3 (Executive Order No. 7083 of June 24, 1935) shall not be applicable to student-aid projects as defined in paragraph 1 or to the employment of young persons under paragraph 5 above. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, August 29, 1935.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

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

References Executive Order 7433—Amendment of Executive Order No. 7164, of August 29, 1935, Prescribing Rules and Regulations Relating to Student-Aid Projects and to Employment of Youth on Other Projects Under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1936-08-18
Amends Executive Order 7319—Amendment of Executive Order No. 7164, of August 29, 1935, Prescribing Rules and Regulations Relating to Student-Aid Projects and to Employment of Youth on Other Projects Under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1936-03-18
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 7164 (Aug. 29, 1935), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7164-prescribing-rules-and-regulations-relating-student-aid-projects-and.