By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the act of February 24, 1938, Public, No. 432, 75th Congress, and the act of March 8, 1938, Public, No. 442, 75th Congress, I hereby designate the Secretary of the Treasury on behalf of the United States to receive from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation all of such capital stock as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation may hold poursuant to any provision of law referred to in subsection (b) of section 1 of the said act of February 24, 1938, and to receive from the Secretary of Agriculture and the Governor of the Farm Credit Administration such stock of the Commodity Credit Corporation as they now hold. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed to exercise on behalf of the United States any and all rights accruing to the holder of such stock. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, March 22, 1938 .
Executive Order 7848 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Executive Order 7848—Designating the Secretary of the Treasury as the Official To Receive Certain Capital Stock From the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Governor of the Farm Credit Administration
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (156 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
I hereby designate the Secretary of the Treasury on behalf of the United States to receive from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation all of such capital stock as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation may hold poursuant to any provision of law referred to in subsection (b) of section 1 of the said act of February 24, 1938, and to receive from the Secretary of Agriculture and the Governor of the Farm Credit Administration such stock of the Commodity Credit Corporation as they now hold.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Private Citizens & Property Owners Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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 22, 1938, this order concerns Designating the Secretary of the Treasury as the Official To Receive Certain Capital Stock From the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Governor of the Farm Credit Administration. I hereby designate the Secretary of the Treasury on behalf of the United States to receive from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation all of such capital stock as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation may hold poursuant to any provision of law referred to in subsection (b) of section 1 of the said act of February 24, 1938, and to receive from the Secretary of Agriculture and the Governor of the Farm Credit…
Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
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I hereby designate the Secretary of the Treasury on behalf of the United States to receive from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation all of such capital stock as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation may hold poursuant to any provision of law referred to in subsection (b) of section 1 of the said act of February 24, 1938, and to receive from the Secretary of Agriculture and the Governor of the Farm Credit Administration such stock of the Commodity Credit Corporation as they now hold.
▪
The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed to exercise on behalf of the United States any and all rights accruing to the holder of such stock.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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 1 (Maximum Authority)
§
"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
"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: Supportive of Execution
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
📐
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
23 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
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
Low Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
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 in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.
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
156
894 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
15.6
College Level
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Related Executive Orders
Other executive actions signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt around this period.
EO 7847 Mar 21, 1938
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7847—Withdrawal of Public Lands for Use of the Navy Department
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Subject to the conditions expressed in the above-mentioned acts and to all valid existing rights, the two tracts of land hereinafter described, in Alaska, are hereby temporarily withdrawn from settlement, location, sale, or entry, and reserved for the use of the Navy…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Grade 7 • 1m
EO 7846 Mar 21, 1938
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7846—Prescribing Regulations Relating to Sick Leave of Government Employees
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the granting of sick leave to civilian officers and employees of the United States, the District of Columbia, and all corporations included within the provision of section 6 of the said act, except as provided in PART III…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 11m
EO 7845 Mar 21, 1938
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7845—Prescribing Regulations Relating to Annual Leave of Government Employees
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the granting of annual leave to civilian officers and employees of the United States, the District of Columbia, and all corporations included within the provisions of section 6 of the said act, except as provided in PART…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 10m
EO 7849 Mar 25, 1938
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7849—Authorizing the Inspection of Income, Excess Profits and Capital Stock Tax Returns, Estate and Gift Tax Returns Filed After June 16, 1933, and Returns Under Title IX of the Social Security Act
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Income, excess 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, the Revenue Act of 1932 as amended by the National Industrial Recovery Act…
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 1m
EO 7851 Mar 26, 1938
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7851—Designation of Charles V. McLaughlin as Member of Interdepartmental Committee To Coordinate Health and Welfare Activities
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
I hereby designate Charles V. McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of Labor, as a member of the Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare Activities, in lieu of Edward F. McGrady, former Assistant Secretary of Labor, resigned.
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 1m
EO 7850 Mar 26, 1938
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7850—Revocation of Executive Order No. 6087 of March 28, 1933, Withdrawing Public Lands
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
COLORADO By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the act of June 25, 1910, ch. 421, 36 Stat. 847, as amended by the act of August 24, 1912, ch. 369, 37 Stat. 497, Executive Order No. 6087 of March 28, 1933, withdrawing public lands in Colorado pending a…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Grade 6 • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 7848 (Mar. 22, 1938), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7848-designating-the-secretary-the-treasury-the-official-receive-certain.
