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Executive Order 7593 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 7593—Establishing Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Tuesday, March 30, 1937
•
5 min read (1,026 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 5 min read (1,026 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

All lands, including lands under water, acquired or to be acquired by the United States, lying within the following-described area, and comprising approximately 479,450 acres in Charlton, Clinch, and Ware Counties, Georgia, 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: Provided , That any private lands within the area described shall become a part of the refuge hereby established upon the acquisition of title thereto or lease thereof by the United States: Beginning at the southeast corner of Ware County, Georgia, in the boundary between the States of Florida and Georgia; Thence from said…

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
Sovereign State Governments & Localities 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 March 30, 1937, this order concerns Establishing Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge. All lands, including lands under water, acquired or to be acquired by the United States, lying within the following-described area, and comprising approximately 479,450 acres in Charlton, Clinch, and Ware Counties, Georgia, 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…

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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All lands, including lands under water, acquired or to be acquired by the United States, lying within the following-described area, and comprising approximately 479,450 acres in Charlton, Clinch, and Ware Counties, Georgia, 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: Provided , That any private lands within the area described shall become a part of the refuge hereby established upon the acquisition of title thereto or lease thereof by the United States: Beginning at the southeast corner of Ware County, Georgia, in the boundary between the States of Florida and Georgia; Thence from said…

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This refuge shall be known as the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ 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.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
31 / 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

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 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
1,026
5,866 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
45.5
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

GEORGIA 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 all lands, including lands under water, acquired or to be acquired by the United States, lying within the following-described area, and comprising approximately 479,450 acres in Charlton, Clinch, and Ware Counties, Georgia, 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: Provided , That any private lands within the area described shall become a part of the refuge hereby established upon the acquisition of title thereto or lease thereof by the United States: Beginning at the southeast corner of Ware County, Georgia, in the boundary between the States of Florida and Georgia; Thence from said initial point, westerly along said State line, with the south boundary of Ware County and in part with the south boundary of Clinch County, to a point in the west boundary of lot 564, 13th District, Clinch County; Thence passing within Clinch County, Northerly, with lot lines through the 13th District to the northwest corner of lot 30 in the north boundary of the 13th District; Westerly, between lot 29,13th District, and lot 29, 12th District; Thence continuing with lot lines in 12th District, Clinch County, Northerly, between lots 28 and 29; Westerly, between lots 28 and 45; Northerly, with the west boundary of lots 45, 100, 117, 172, 189, and 244; Easterly, between lots 244 and 261; Northerly, between lots 260 and 261, and lots 316 and 317; Easterly, between lots 317 and 332; Northerly, between lots 381 and 332; Easterly, between lots 331 and 390, 330 and 391, and lots 329 and 392, to the boundary between Clinch and Ware Counties; Thence, northerly, on county line between lots 392 and 393; Thence passing within Ware County and continuing with lot lines in 12th District, Easterly, between lots 393 and 400, and lots 394 and 399; Northerly, between lots 398 and 399; Easterly, between lots 398 and 467; Northerly, between lots 467 and 468, and lots 469 and 470; Easterly, between lots 469 and 540, and lots 615 and 616, to the boundary between Ware and Charlton Counties; Thence passing within Charlton County, with lot lines in the 4th Section, 10th District, Easterly, between lots 3 and 4; Northerly, between lots 3 and 22; Easterly, between lots 22 and 23; Northerly, between lots 23 and 26, and lots 24 and 25, to the boundary between Charlton and Ware Counties; Thence, easterly, with county line to the southwest corner of lot 523, 8th District, Ware County; Thence passing within Ware County, with lot lines in the 8th District, Northerly, between lots 522 and 523, 490 and 491, and lots 476 and 477; Easterly, between lots 444 and 477; Northerly, between lots 443 and 444, and lots 431 and 432; Easterly, between lots 397 and 432, 396 and 433, 395 and 434, 394 and 435, 393 and 436, and lots 392 and 437 to the line between the 8th and 9th Districts; Thence continuing in Ware County, with lot lines in the 9th District, Easterly, between lots 18 and 19; Southerly, between lots 19 and 28; Easterly, between lots 27 and 28, 65 and 66, 73 and 74, 111 and 112, 119 and 120, and lots 157 and 158; Southerly, between lots 158 and 165; Easterly, between lots 164 and 165, and lots 204 and 205; Southerly, between lots 205 and 210, 206 and 209, and lots 207 and 208, to the boundary between Ware and Charlton Counties; Thence, easterly, with county line, to the northeast corner of lot 48, 1st Section, 10th District, Charlton County; Thence passing within Charlton County, with lot lines in 1st Section, loth District, Southerly, between lots 48 and 49, 47 and 50, 46 and 51, 45 and 52, 44 and 53, 43 and 54, 42 and 55, 41 and 56, 40 and 57, 39 and 58, and lots 38 and 59 to the south comer of lot 59 in the line between the 1st and 10th Districts; Thence, southwesterly, with district line, to the southwest comer of lot 26, 1st District, Charlton County; Thence continuing in Charlton County, with lot lines In 1st District, Southeasterly, between lots 28 and 37; Southwesterly, between lots 36 and 37, 38 and 39, 48 and 49, 50 and 51, 60 and 61, and lots 62 and 63; Southeasterly, between lots 63 and 70; Southwesterly, between lots 69 and 70, and lots 73 and 74; Southeasterly, between lots 74 and 79, 75 and 78, and lots 76 and 77, to the line between the 1st District and the Headright Grants; Southwesterly, with line between lot 77, 1st District, and the Headright Grants, 58.20 chains, to a point; Thence passing within the Headright Grants with, the following described line: N. 88°16' E., 96.73 chains; S. 28°17' W., 22.07 chains; S. 89°10' W., 60.08 chains; N. 83°06' W., 32.04 chains, to the line between lot 77, 1st District, and the Headright Grants; Thence, southwesterly, with the southeast boundary of lots 77 and 86; Thence passing within 1st District, with lot lines, Northwesterly, between lots 86 and 88, and lots 85 and 89; Southwesterly, between lots 89 and 90, 95 and 96, and lots 104 and 105; Southeasterly, between lots 104 and 111; Southwesterly, between lots 111 and 112, and lots 122 and 123; Southeasterly, between lots 122 and 131; Southwesterly, between lots 181 and 132, 144 and 145, 154 and 155, 170 and 171, 180 and 181, 198 and 199, 208 and 208, and lots 226 and 227; Northwesterly, between lots 227 and 237, and lots 228 and 236; Southwesterly, between lots 235 and 236; Northwesterly, between lots 235 and 259, 234 and 258, and lots 283 and 257; Northeasterly, with northwest boundary of lot 233, to place of beginning. This refuge shall be known as the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, March 30, 1937.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

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

References Executive Order 7994—Modification of Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1938-10-27
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 7593 (Mar. 30, 1937), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7593-establishing-okefenokee-wildlife-refuge.