By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 4 of the Air Commerce Act of 1926 (44 Stat. 568, 570), the air space over the inclosed areas shown upon the map A. P. G. 7310 P. R. dated February 24, 1938 (a copy of which is on file in the Division of the Federal Register, The National Archives, Washington, D.C.), at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, which areas include the Aberdeen Proving Ground, portions of the Fort Hoyle and the Edgewood Arsenal Military Reservations, and portions of Bush River, Gunpowder River, and Chesapeake Bay, all in the State of Maryland, is hereby reserved and set apart for national-defense purposes: Provided, however , that when the areas marked "Section No. 1" and "Section No. 2" on the said map are not being used or immediately required for national-defense purposes, they may be released by the Secretary of War to the Civil Aeronautics Authority for the crossing by such civil aircraft as may be mutually agreed upon. The Secretary of War and the Civil Aeronautics Authority shall designate in their Department and office, respectively, the agencies which, under their direction, shall execute the provisions of this order. Persons operating aircraft within this airspace reservation in violation of the provisions of this order or of the said Air Commerce Act of 1926 will be subject to the penalties prescribed by section 11 of that act. This order supersedes Executive Order No. 5211 of October 19, 1929, establishing an airspace reservation over certain areas in the State of Maryland. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, October 8, 1938.
Executive Order 7985 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Executive Order 7985—Establishing an Airspace Reservation Over Certain Areas in Maryland
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (265 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
All in the State of Maryland, is hereby reserved and set apart for national-defense purposes: Provided, however , that when the areas marked "Section No. 1" and "Section No. 2" on the said map are not being used or immediately required for national-defense purposes, they may be released by the Secretary of War to the Civil Aeronautics Authority for the crossing by such civil aircraft as may be mutually agreed upon.
⚖️ 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 Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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 October 8, 1938, this order concerns Establishing an Airspace Reservation Over Certain Areas in Maryland. All in the State of Maryland, is hereby reserved and set apart for national-defense purposes: Provided, however , that when the areas marked "Section No. 1" and "Section No. 2" on the said map are not being used or immediately required for national-defense purposes, they may be released by the Secretary of War to the Civil Aeronautics Authority for the crossing by such civil aircraft as may be mutually agreed upon.
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
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All in the State of Maryland, is hereby reserved and set apart for national-defense purposes: Provided, however , that when the areas marked "Section No. 1" and "Section No. 2" on the said map are not being used or immediately required for national-defense purposes, they may be released by the Secretary of War to the Civil Aeronautics Authority for the crossing by such civil aircraft as may be mutually agreed upon.
▪
The Secretary of War and the Civil Aeronautics Authority shall designate in their Department and office, respectively, the agencies which, under their direction, shall execute the provisions of this order.
▪
Persons operating aircraft within this airspace reservation in violation of the provisions of this order or of the said Air Commerce Act of 1926 will be subject to the penalties prescribed by section 11 of that act.
▪
This order supersedes Executive Order No. 5211 of October 19, 1929, establishing an airspace reservation over certain areas in the State of Maryland.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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
📐
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
265
1,590 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
13.7
College Level
Text size:
Related Executive Orders
1 order cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 5211 Oct 19, 1929
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5211—Reserving Certain Described Lands for Airspace Reservation Purposes, Maryland
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
By authority of the provisions of section 4 of the Air Commerce Act of 1926, the airspace over the inclosed area shown upon the map hereto attached and made a part hereof, which area includes the Aberdeen Proving Ground, portions of the Fort Hoyle and the Edgewood Arsenal…
Herbert Hoover Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 7986 Oct 8, 1938
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7986—Transfers of National-Forest Lands
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Transfers of the hereinafter-described national-forest lands, in Idaho, be, and they are hereby, made as follows: FROM THE LEMHI NATIONAL FOREST TO THE SALMON NATIONAL FOREST All lands now a part of the Lemhi National Forest lying East or North and East of a line beginning…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 7984 Oct 7, 1938
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7984—Extension of Trust Periods on Indian Lands Expiring During Calendar Year 1939
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
The periods of trust applying to any Indian lands, whether of a tribal or individual status, which, unless extended, will expire during the calendar year 1939, be, and they are hereby, extended for a further period of 25 years from the date on which any such trust would…
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 1m
EO 7987 Oct 11, 1938
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7987—Designating Dr. Thomas Parran as Member of Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare Activities
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
I hereby designate Dr. Thomas Parran, Surgeon General, United States Public Health Service, Treasury Department, as a member of the Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare Activities.
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 1m
EO 7988 Oct 12, 1938
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7988—Exemption of Miss Ada Tanner From Compulsory Retirement for Age
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
I hereby exempt the said Miss Ada Tanner from compulsory retirement for age for a period of one year ending October 31, 1939.
Franklin D. Roosevelt College Level • 1m
EO 7983 Oct 4, 1938
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 7983—Establishing the Breton Bird Refuge
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
All lands owned or controlled by the United States on Breton Island, Freemason Islands, Old Harbor Islands, Errol Island, and that part of the Chandeleur Islands lying south of a line bearing N. 73° 30' E., and S. 73° 30' W., through a point that is S. 36° E., 3 miles distant…
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 2m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 7985 (Oct. 8, 1938), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7985-establishing-airspace-reservation-over-certain-areas-maryland.
