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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 8095 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 8095—Transfer of Jurisdiction Over Certain Lands From the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior, and Withdrawal of Lands From the Public Domain for the Use of the Department of Agriculture

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Wednesday, April 19, 1939
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3 min read (664 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (664 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Jurisdiction over the following-described lands be, and it is hereby, transferred from the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior; and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to use such lands in connection with the administration of the Taylor Grazing Act, supra, under such conditions of use and administration as will best carry out the purposes of the land-conservation and landutilization program for which such lands were acquired: NEW MEXICO PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 16 S., R. 21 E., sec. 35, SW¼SE¼; T. 17 S., R. 21 E., sec. 1, S½NE¼; T. 16 S., R. 23 E., sec. 31, S½SW¼, SW¼ SE¼; T. 17 S., R. 23 E., sec. 6, N½N½, SW¼NW¼; sec. 9, SW¼SW¼, sec. 23, NW¼NW¼; T. 17 S., R. 24 E., sec. 4, NW¼SW¼, E½SW¼, sec. 18, SW¼…

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Public Health & Medical Institutions

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 April 19, 1939, this order concerns Transfer of Jurisdiction Over Certain Lands From the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior, and Withdrawal of Lands From the Public Domain for the Use of the Department of Agriculture. Jurisdiction over the following-described lands be, and it is hereby, transferred from the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior; and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to use such lands in connection with the administration of the Taylor Grazing Act, supra, under such conditions of use and administration as will best carry out the purposes of the land-conservation and…

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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Jurisdiction over the following-described lands be, and it is hereby, transferred from the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior; and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to use such lands in connection with the administration of the Taylor Grazing Act, supra, under such conditions of use and administration as will best carry out the purposes of the land-conservation and landutilization program for which such lands were acquired: NEW MEXICO PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 16 S., R. 21 E., sec. 35, SW¼SE¼; T. 17 S., R. 21 E., sec. 1, S½NE¼; T. 16 S., R. 23 E., sec. 31, S½SW¼, SW¼ SE¼; T. 17 S., R. 23 E., sec. 6, N½N½, SW¼NW¼; sec. 9, SW¼SW¼, sec. 23, NW¼NW¼; T. 17 S., R. 24 E., sec. 4, NW¼SW¼, E½SW¼, sec. 18, SW¼…

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And by virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in the President by the act of June 25, 1910, c. 421, 36 Stat. 847, as amended by the act of August 24, 1912, c. 369, 37 Stat. 497, it is ordered that any public-domain lands within the following-described area be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart, subject to valid existing rights, for the use of the Department of Agriculture in connection with the aforementioned Hope Land Use Adjustment Project: Provided , that such lands shall not be disposed of by sale, exchange, or grant, in accordance with the provisions of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, supra, without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior: And provided further , that this order shall not apply to the…

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The reservation of public-domain lands made by this order shall remain in force until revoked by the President or by act of Congress.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions

Policy Areas & Topics

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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
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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
664
3,737 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
8.9
Grade 9
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

NEW MEXICO Whereas certain, lands within the boundaries of a grazing district in the State of New Mexico, established under the authority of the Taylor Grazing Act, approved June 28, 1934 (48 Stat. 1269), as amended by the act of June 26, 1936, 49 Stat. 1976, have been acquired under the authority of Title II of the National Industrial Recovery Act, approved June 16, 1933 (48 Stat. 200), and the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, approved April 8, 1935 (49 Stat. 115), in connection with the Department of Agriculture's project known as the Hope Land Use Adjustment Project, LA-NM 4; and Whereas by Executive Order No. 7908, dated June 9, 1938, all the right, title, and interest of the United States in such lands was transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture for use, administration, and disposition in accordance with the provisions of Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, approved July 22, 1937 (50 Stat. 522, 525), and the related provisions thereof; and Whereas it appears that the transfer of jurisdiction over a portion of such lands from the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior for administrative purposes would be in the public interest: Now, Therefore , by virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in the President by section 32, Title III of the said Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, it is ordered that jurisdiction over the following-described lands be, and it is hereby, transferred from the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior; and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to use such lands in connection with the administration of the Taylor Grazing Act, supra, under such conditions of use and administration as will best carry out the purposes of the land-conservation and landutilization program for which such lands were acquired: NEW MEXICO PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 16 S., R. 21 E., sec. 35, SW¼SE¼; T. 17 S., R. 21 E., sec. 1, S½NE¼; T. 16 S., R. 23 E., sec. 31, S½SW¼, SW¼ SE¼; T. 17 S., R. 23 E., sec. 6, N½N½, SW¼NW¼; sec. 9, SW¼SW¼, sec. 23, NW¼NW¼; T. 17 S., R. 24 E., sec. 4, NW¼SW¼, E½SW¼, sec. 18, SW¼, sec. 20, N½; AGGREGATING 1,104.36 acres. And by virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in the President by the act of June 25, 1910, c. 421, 36 Stat. 847, as amended by the act of August 24, 1912, c. 369, 37 Stat. 497, it is ordered that any public-domain lands within the following-described area be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart, subject to valid existing rights, for the use of the Department of Agriculture in connection with the aforementioned Hope Land Use Adjustment Project: Provided , that such lands shall not be disposed of by sale, exchange, or grant, in accordance with the provisions of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, supra, without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior: And provided further , that this order shall not apply to the right, title, and interest of the United States in the mineral resources of such lands, and shall not restrict the disposition of such mineral resources under the public-land laws: NEW MEXICO PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 17 S., R. 21 E., sec. 1, W½, secs. 2, and 11 to 15, inclusive, sec. 22, N½, E½SW¼, SE¼, secs. 23, 24, and 25, sec. 26, N½NE¼, NW¼, sec. 36; T. 18 S., R. 21 E., sec. 1, N½, N½SW¼, SE¼, sec. 12, E½NE¼; T. 17 S., R. 23 E., secs. 7, 8, and 17 to 22, 27 to 33, inclusive, sec. 34, N½, SW¼, sec. 35, W½NW¼; T. 18 S.. R. 23 E., sec. 3, NW¼, S½, secs. 4, 5, and 6, sec. 7, N½, N½SW¼, sec. 8, N½, N½S½, sec. 9, NW¼; AGGREGATING 21,622.14 acres. The reservation of public-domain lands made by this order shall remain in force until revoked by the President or by act of Congress. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, April 19, 1939.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 8095 (Apr. 19, 1939), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8095-transfer-jurisdiction-over-certain-lands-from-the-secretary.