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Executive Order 7437 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 7437—Establishing Trempealeau Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in the State of Wisconsin

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Friday, August 21, 1936
•
3 min read (617 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (617 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The following-described lands in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, consisting of 706.94 acres, more or less, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights, as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: FOURTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 18 N., R. 9 W., Sec. 7: that part of the SW¼ lying west of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad right of way.

View all 2 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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 21, 1936, this order concerns Establishing Trempealeau Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in the State of Wisconsin. The following-described lands in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, consisting of 706.94 acres, more or less, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights, as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: FOURTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 18 N., R. 9 W., Sec. 7: that part of the SW¼ lying west of the Chicago &…

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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The following-described lands in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, consisting of 706.94 acres, more or less, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights, as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: FOURTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 18 N., R. 9 W., Sec. 7: that part of the SW¼ lying west of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad right of way.

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This refuge shall be known as the Trempealeau Migratory Waterfowl Refuge.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Energy & Environment
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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

"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: Supportive of Execution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)

Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.

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.

🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
23 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

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

Moderate Friction

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

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 in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.

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
617
3,459 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
4
Grade 4
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 as President of the United States, and in order to effectuate further the purposes of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (45 Stat. 1222), it is ordered that the following-described lands in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, consisting of 706.94 acres, more or less, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights, as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: FOURTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 18 N., R. 9 W., Sec. 7: that part of the SW¼ lying west of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad right of way. T. 18 N., R. 10 W., Sec. 1: that part of the SW¼SW¼ described as follows: Beginning at the southwest corner of section 1; thence N. 0°53' W., on line between sections 1 and 2, 9.65 chains; thence through section 1, S. 48°14' E., 8.73 chains; thence S. 60°58' E., 7.13 chains to a point on line between sections 1 and 12; thence with section line S. 88°35' W., 12.53 chains to point of beginning; Sec. 2: that part of the S½SE¼ described as follows: Beginning at the southeast corner of section 2; thence S. 88°24' W. on line between sections 2 and 11, 33.05 chains; thence through section 2, N. 12°15' E., 18.00 chains; thence N. 32°52' E., 3.25 chains; thence N. 89°06' E., 8.85 chains; thence S. 37°54' E., 5.33 chains; thence N. 84°35' E., 4.20 chains; thence S. 57°33' E., 3.50 chains; thence S. 29°43' E., 5.33 chains; thence S. 57°41' E., 3.25 chains; thence N. 51°41' E., 3.33 chains to a point on line between sections 1 and 2; thence with section line S. 0°53' E., 9.65 chains to point of beginning; Sec. 11: that part of the E¼ described as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of section 11; thence on line between sections 11 and 12, 1°22' E., 40.04 chains; thence S. 1°15' E., 29.59 chains; thence through section 11, N. 63°26' W., 19.87 chains; thence S. 57°24' W., 4.14 chains; thence N. 61°21' W., 2.42 chains; thence N. 28°47' W., 11.69 chains; thence N. 11°17' W., 17.88 chains; thence N. 9°22' E., 28.04 chains; thence N. 52°08' W., 8.95 chains to a point on line between sections 2 and 11; thenee with section line N. 88°24' E., 33.05 chains to point of beginning; Sec.12: that part described as follows: Beginning at the northwest corner of section 12; thence N. 88°32' E., on line between sections 1 and 12, 12.53 chains; thence through section 12, S. 52°06' E., 35.53 chains; thence S. 58°58' E., 14.47 chains; thence S. 58°58' E., 14.47 chains; thence S. 56°47' E., 6.38 chains; thence S. 62°00' E., 3.41 chains; thence S. 61°38' E., 9.76 chains to a point on the east and west center line of said section; thence N. 89°02' E., on center line 10.95 chains to the ¼ corner on east boundary of section 12; thence S. 1°54' E., on boundary line 39.88 chains to the southeast corner of said section; thence through the section N. 77°58' W., 16.91 chains; thence N. 70°27' W., 16.66 chains; thence N. 42°38' W., 7.56 chains; thence N. 80°22' W., 24.16 chains; thence S. 6°49' W., 9.26 chains; thence N. 79°56' W., 11.01 chains; thence S. 9°48' W., 5.53 chains; thence N. 64°30' W., 6.63 chains to a point on line between sections 11 and 12; thence with section line N. 1°15' W., 29.59 chains; thence N. 1°22' W., 40.04 chains to point of beginning. This refuge shall be known as the Trempealeau Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

August 21, 1936.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 7437 (Aug. 21, 1936), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7437-establishing-trempealeau-migratory-waterfowl-refuge-the-state.