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Executive Order 7467 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 7467—Transferring Certain Lands to the Control and Jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy in California

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Wednesday, October 7, 1936
•
7 min read (1,333 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 7 min read (1,333 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

There be, and there is hereby, transferred to the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy, the Military Reservation known as Benton Field (Army Air Corps Flying Field) situated within the city limits of Alameda, Alameda County, State of California, consisting of two (2) parcels, more particularly described as follows: PARCEL NO. 1 Beginning at Station No. 179 on the Peralta Grant Line, as said Station and Line are shown on that certain map entitled, in part: 'Map of Alameda Marsh Land' filed July 30, 1900, in the office of the County Recorder of Alameda County, in Map Book 25, pages 74 to 78, and running thence, by true bearings: Along said Peralta Grant, the following nine (9) courses: 1.

View all 1 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities
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 7, 1936, this order concerns Transferring Certain Lands to the Control and Jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy in California. There be, and there is hereby, transferred to the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy, the Military Reservation known as Benton Field (Army Air Corps Flying Field) situated within the city limits of Alameda, Alameda County, State of California, consisting of two (2) parcels, more particularly described as follows: PARCEL NO. 1 Beginning at Station No. 179 on the Peralta Grant Line, as said Station…

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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There be, and there is hereby, transferred to the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy, the Military Reservation known as Benton Field (Army Air Corps Flying Field) situated within the city limits of Alameda, Alameda County, State of California, consisting of two (2) parcels, more particularly described as follows: PARCEL NO. 1 Beginning at Station No. 179 on the Peralta Grant Line, as said Station and Line are shown on that certain map entitled, in part: 'Map of Alameda Marsh Land' filed July 30, 1900, in the office of the County Recorder of Alameda County, in Map Book 25, pages 74 to 78, and running thence, by true bearings: Along said Peralta Grant, the following nine (9) courses: 1.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ National Security & Defense 🏷️ Infrastructure & Transportation
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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

"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: Strong Prerogative Support
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
43 / 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

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

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

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%).
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
1,333
8,029 characters
Estimated Read Time
7 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
5.6
Grade 6
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 act of July 11, 1919, 41 Stat. 131, 132 (U.S.C., title 10, sec. 1274), and otherwise, and in the interest of the national defense, it is ordered that there be, and there is hereby, transferred to the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy, the Military Reservation known as Benton Field (Army Air Corps Flying Field) situated within the city limits of Alameda, Alameda County, State of California, consisting of two (2) parcels, more particularly described as follows: PARCEL NO. 1 Beginning at Station No. 179 on the Peralta Grant Line, as said Station and Line are shown on that certain map entitled, in part: 'Map of Alameda Marsh Land' filed July 30, 1900, in the office of the County Recorder of Alameda County, in Map Book 25, pages 74 to 78, and running thence, by true bearings: Along said Peralta Grant, the following nine (9) courses: 1. South twenty-nine degrees thirty minutes west (S. 29 degrees 30' W.) a distance of seven hundred thirty-two and sixty hundredths (732.60) feet to Station 180; 2. south fifty-four degrees fifteen minutes west (S. 54 degrees 15' W.) a distance of three hundred thirty and no hundredths (330.00) feet to Station 181; 3. south twenty-nine degrees zero minutes west (S. 29 degrees 00' W.) a distance of four hundred eighty-one and eighty hundredths (481.80) feet to Station 182; 4. south twelve degrees zero minutes west (S. 12 degrees 00' W.) a distance of three hundred thirty-two and sixty-four hundredths (332.64) feet to Station 183; 5. south fifteen degrees zero minutes east (S. 15 degrees 00' E.) a distance of five hundred forty-one and twenty hundredths (541.20) feet to Station 184; 6. south twenty-one degrees forty-five minutes east (S. 21 degrees 45 ' E.) a distance of four hundred five and ninety hundredths (405.90) feet to Station 185; 7. south forty-one degrees zero minutes east (S. 41 degrees 00' E.) a distance of three hundred forty-nine and eighty hundredths (349.80) feet to Station 186; 8. south twenty-seven degrees forty-five minutes east (S. 27 degrees 45 ' E.) a distance of four hundred fifteen and eighty hundredths (415.80) feet to Station 187; 9. south seven degrees fifty minutes thirty seconds east (S. 7 degrees 50'30" E.) a distance of one hundred seventeen and twenty-five hundredths (117.25) feet to a point in the northwesterly boundary line of tide land Lot No. 6 in Section 10, Township 2 south, Range 4 west, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian; 10. thence south forty-five degrees zero minutes west (S. 45 degrees 00 ' W.) a distance of two thousand six hundred ninety-six and no hundredths (2,696.00) feet to the most westerly corner of tide land Lot No. 16 in Section 9, said Township and Range; 11. thence south sixteen degrees two minutes west (S. 16 degrees 02' W.) a distance of seven thousand four hundred fifty-seven and twenty-four hundredths (7,457.24) feet, more or less, to a point in the southwest boundary line of the City of Alameda; 12. thence north twenty-seven degrees fifty minutes west (N. 27 degrees 50' W.) along said southwest boundary line of the City of Alameda, a distance of five thousand two hundred sixty-one and forty-two hundredths (5,261.42) feet to a point; 13. thence north sixteen degrees two minutes east (N. 16 degrees 02' E.) a distance of nine thousand three hundred forty-four and thirteen hundredths (9,344.13) feet, more or less, to a point in the southerly right of way line of the Central Pacific Railway Company (Southern Pacific Railroad Company, Lessee); thence along the southerly right of way line of said Railroad the following three (3) courses: 14. south seventy-three degrees fifty-eight minutes east (S. 73 degrees 58' E.) a distance of one thousand four hundred fifty and no hundredths (1,450.00) feet to the point of beginning of a curve to the left having a radius of four thousand five hundred twenty-eight and eight hundredths (4,528.08) feet; 15. along the arc of said curve to the left having a radius of four thousand five hundred twenty-eight and eight hundredths (4,528.08) feet, a distance of nine hundred fifty-four and ninety-four hundredths (954.94) feet to the point of tangency of said curve; 16. south eighty-six degrees three minutes east (S. 86 degrees 03' E.) along the tangent to said curve a distance of one thousand seven hundred fifteen and twenty-five hundredths (1,715.25) feet to a point; 17. thence due south a distance of six hundred fifty and seventy-five hundredths (650.75) feet to the point of beginning. Tract as described contains an area of one thousand twenty-five and seventy-eight hundredths (1,025.78) acres, more or less. PARCEL NO. 2 Beginning at a point in the northerly right of way line of the Central Pacific Railway Company (Southern Pacific Railroad Company, Lessee), said point bearing due north and distant nine hundred twenty-six and twenty-five hundredths (926.25) feet from Station 179 on the Peralta Grant Line, being the point of beginning of Parcel No. 1, and running thence, by true bearings: Along the northerly right of way line of said Railroad the following eight (8) courses: 1. South eighty-eight degrees twenty-one minutes west (S. 88 degrees 21 ' W.) a distance of one thousand and no hundredths (1,000.00) feet to a point; 2. north eighty-nine degrees two minutes west (N. 89 degrees 02' W.) a distance of four hundred fifty-one and fourteen hundredths (451.14) feet to a point; 3. north eighty-four degrees five minutes west (N. 84 degrees 05' W.) a distance of five hundred thirty-five and ninety-five hundredths (535.95) feet to a point; 4. north eighty degrees fourteen minutes west (N. 80 degrees 14' W.) a distance of two hundred sixty-one and forty hundredths (261.40) feet to a point; 5. north nine degrees forty-six minutes east (N. 9 degrees 46' E.) a distance of sixty and no hundredths (60.00) feet to a point; 6. north fifty-eight degrees forty-nine minutes west (N. 58 degrees 49 ' W.) a distance of eighty-three and no hundredths (83.00) feet to a point; 7. south thirty-one degrees thirty-six minutes west (S. 31 degrees 36' W.) a distance of seventy-four and thirteen hundredths (74.13) feet to a point; 8. north seventy-three degrees fifty-eight minutes west (N. 73 degrees 58' W.) a distance of one thousand seven hundred sixteen and sixty-six hundredths (1,716.66) feet to a point; 9. thence north sixteen degrees two minutes east (N. 16 degrees 02' E.) a distance of four hundred twenty-four and six tenths (424.6) feet, more or less, to a point in the northerly boundary line of the City of Alameda; thence along the said northerly boundary line of the City of Alameda, the following four (4) courses: 10. south seventy-four degrees thirty-six minutes six seconds east (S. 74 degrees 36'06" E.) a distance of six hundred seven and thirty-nine hundredths (607.39) feet to a point; 11. south eighty degrees twelve minutes forty-eight seconds east (S. 80 degrees 12'48" E.) a distance of one thousand three hundred ninety-four and three tenths (1,394.3) feet to a point; 12. south eighty-nine degrees three minutes seven seconds east (S. 89 degrees 03'07" E.) a distance of one thousand four hundred sixty-two and seven tenths (1,462.7) feet to a point; 13. north seventy-six degrees sixteen minutes twenty-seven seconds east (N. 76 degrees 16'27" E.) a distance of four hundred sixty-four and eighty-two hundredths (464.82) feet to a point; 14. thence due south a distance of six hundred eighty-seven and forty- one hundredths (687.41) feet to the point of beginning. The tract as described contains an area of forty-nine and ninety-two hundredths (49.92) acres, more or less. The total area of the Reservation, including Parcels Nos. 1 and 2, is one thousand seventy-five and seventy hundredths (1,075.70) acres, more or less, all as shown on Map No. 6757-108, entitled: 'Benton Field, Alameda County, State of California, Boundary Map', scale 1" = 500', dated July, 1933. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

October 7, 1936.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 7467 (Oct. 7, 1936), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7467-transferring-certain-lands-the-control-and-jurisdiction-the-secretary.