Whereas Executive Order No. 7575 of March 13, 1937, issued under and pursuant to section 811 of the Revenue Act of 1936 (49 Stat. 1746), limited the quantity of red cedar shingles imported from Canada which might be admitted to entry during the first six months of the calendar year 1937 to 1,048,262 squares, the equivalent of 25 per centum of the combined total of the shipments of red cedar shingles by producers in the United States and the imports of such shingles from Canada for the last six months of the calendar year 1936; and Whereas the said section 811 of the Revenue Act of 1936 requires that the President shall issue a new order for each succeeding half-calendar year during the life of the reciprocal trade agreement entered into with the Dominion of Canada under date of November 15, 1935, limiting the imports of red cedar shingles from Canada for such half-calendar year to 25 per centum of the combined total of such shipments and imports of red cedar shingles for the preceding half-calendar year; and Whereas I find from available statistics that the combined total of such shipments and imports of red cedar shingles during the first half of the calendar year 1937 is 3,569,492 squares: Now, Therefore , by virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the aforesaid section 811 of the Revenue Act of 1936 it is hereby ordered that 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. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, September 3, 1937.
Executive Order 7701—Limiting the Importation of Red Cedar Shingles from Canada During the Last Six Months of 1937
Executive Brief • At a Glance
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.
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 September 3, 1937, this order concerns Limiting the Importation of Red Cedar Shingles from Canada During the Last Six Months of 1937. 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.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
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.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
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.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
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.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 7701 (Sept. 3, 1937), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7701-limiting-the-importation-red-cedar-shingles-from-canada-during-the.