I hereby authorize and direct R. Walton Moore, Assistant Secretary of State, to perform the duties of the Secretary of State during the absence of the Secretary of State.
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on November 6, 1936, this order concerns Designation of R. Walton Moore, Assistant Secretary of State, To Act as Secretary of State. I hereby authorize and direct R. Walton Moore, Assistant Secretary of State, to perform the duties of the Secretary of State during the absence of the Secretary of State.
I hereby authorize and direct R. Walton Moore, Assistant Secretary of State, to perform the duties of the Secretary of State during the absence of the Secretary of State.
Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
This order operates in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.
By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by Section 179 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (5 U.S.C. Section 6), I hereby authorize and direct R. Walton Moore, Assistant Secretary of State, to perform the duties of the Secretary of State during the absence of the Secretary of State. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT
November 6, 1936.
Other executive actions signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt around this period.
Paragraph 6, Subdivision VII, Schedule A of the Civil Service Rules be, and it is hereby, amended to read as follows: "6. Temporary clerks, carriers, and laborers required for part-time or intermittent work in the Postal Service in connection with the holiday or seasonal…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Executive Order No. 4539 of November 6, 1926, withdrawing, together with other lands, public lands in the surveyed portion of T. 5 S., R. 3 W. of the Salt Lake meridian, Utah, pending a resurvey of said surveyed portion of the township, is hereby revoked as to said township.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Executive Order No. 2124 of January 20, 1915, establishing for the protection of native birds the Ediz Hook Reservation, Washington, containing approximately 83 acres, on an arm of land in the Straits of Juan de Fuca extending from and adjoining Port Angeles Townsite in T. 31…
Franklin D. Roosevelt The following-described area containing 154.46 acres, more or less, located in the Gulf of Mexico and known as Sea Horse Key, together with all buildings thereon, be, and it is hereby, reserved and, subject to valid existing rights, set apart for the use of the Department of…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Income, profits, and capital stock tax returns made under the Revenue Act of 1936, the Revenue Act of 1935, the Revenue Act of 1934, the National Industrial Recovery Act, the Revenue Act of 1932, as amended by the National Industrial Recovery Act, and the prior revenue acts…
Franklin D. Roosevelt I hereby designate Louis N. Robinson as Chairman of the Prison Industries Reorganization Board, created by Executive Order No. 7194 of September 26, 1935, in lieu of Joseph N. Ulman who has requested that he be relieved of the duties of the chairmanship of the Board.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Exec. Order No. 7487 (Nov. 6, 1936), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7487-designation-r-walton-moore-assistant-secretary-state-act-secretary.
