By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1. On Friday, September 17, 1937, the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States, the several executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies in the District of Columbia, including the Government Printing Office and the Navy Yard and naval stations, shall be closed at 1 o'clock pm. or at such other hour as they, under their regulations, regularly close on Saturdays; and all employees in the Federal service in the District of Columbia and in the field service of the executive departments, independent establishments, and other agencies of the Government, except those who may for special public reasons be excluded from the provisions of this order by the heads of their respective departments, establishments, or agencies, or those whose absence from duty would be inconsistent with the provisions of existing law, shall be excused from duty on that day after the hour at which the departments, establishments, or agencies in which they work are closed in accordance with this order. 2. For the purpose of this order, in establishments or agencies in which the employees work in shifts such employees shall, subject to the foregoing provisions, be excused from duty after four hours of work on the said day. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, August 31, 1937.
Executive Order 7700 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Executive Order 7700—Excusing Federal Employees from Duty on September 17, 1937
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (236 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
On Friday, September 17, 1937, the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States, the several executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies in the District of Columbia, including the Government Printing Office and the Navy Yard and naval stations, shall be closed at 1 o'clock pm. or at such other hour as they, under their regulations, regularly close on Saturdays; and all employees in the Federal service in the District of Columbia and in the field service of the executive departments, independent establishments, and other agencies of the Government, except those who may for special public reasons be excluded from the provisions of this order by the heads of…
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners
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 31, 1937, this order concerns Excusing Federal Employees from Duty on September 17, 1937. On Friday, September 17, 1937, the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States, the several executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies in the District of Columbia, including the Government Printing Office and the Navy Yard and naval stations, shall be closed at 1 o'clock pm. or at such other hour as they, under their regulations…
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
▪
On Friday, September 17, 1937, the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States, the several executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies in the District of Columbia, including the Government Printing Office and the Navy Yard and naval stations, shall be closed at 1 o'clock pm. or at such other hour as they, under their regulations, regularly close on Saturdays; and all employees in the Federal service in the District of Columbia and in the field service of the executive departments, independent establishments, and other agencies of the Government, except those who may for special public reasons be excluded from the provisions of this order by the heads of…
▪
For the purpose of this order, in establishments or agencies in which the employees work in shifts such employees shall, subject to the foregoing provisions, be excused from duty after four hours of work on the said day.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
Policy Areas & Topics
🏛️
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating 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
38 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Moderate Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
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
Low Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
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
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
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
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
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
236
1,456 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
22.7
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
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EO 7700 Aug 31, 1937
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7700-A—Inspection of Income, Profits, and Capital Stock Tax Returns by the Committee on Interstate Commerce, United States Senate
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Income, profits, and capital stock tax returns made under the Revenue Act of 1935, as amended by the Revenue Act of 1936, and the Revenue Act of 1936 shall be open to inspection by the Committee on Interstate Commerce, United States Senate, or any duly authorized subcommittee…
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Executive Order 7701—Limiting the Importation of Red Cedar Shingles from Canada During the Last Six Months of 1937
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
The quantity of red cedar shingles imported from Canada which may be admitted to entry during the last six months of the calendar year 1937 shall be limited to 892,373 squares.
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EO 7699 Aug 28, 1937
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7699—Abolishing Nome, Alaska, as a Customs Port of Entry
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Nome, Alaska, be, and it is hereby, abolished as a customs port of entry in Customs Collection District No. 31 (Alaska), effective thirty days from the date of this order.
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EO 7698 Aug 26, 1937
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7698—Excluding Certain Lands from the Carson National Forest
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
The following-described lands in New Mexico, embraced in color of title application Santa Fe 058183, be, and they are hereby, excluded from the Carson National Forest: NEW MEXICO PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 25 N., R. 8 E., sec. 2, tracts 37, 38, and 39, 8.89 acres.
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EO 7702 Sep 6, 1937
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7702—Amendment of Paragraph 6, Subdivision IX, Schedule A of Civil Service Rules
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Paragraph 6 of Subdivision IX of Schedule A of the Civil Service Rules be, and it is hereby, amended to read as follows: "6. Two assistants to the Secretary in the office of the Secretary of Agriculture."
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EO 7697 Aug 23, 1937
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7697—Interchange of Land Between the Army and the Navy at Bolling Field, District of Columbia
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
That the above-mentioned portion of new Bolling Field be, and it is hereby, transferred from the control and jurisdiction of the War Department to the control and jurisdiction of the Navy Department, and (2) that the description of such land and the above-mentioned land at…
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📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 7700 (Aug. 31, 1937), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7700-excusing-federal-employees-from-duty-september-17-1937.
