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Executive Order 8246 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.55) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 8246—Making Funds Available for the Protection of American Citizens in Foreign Countries During the Existing Emergency

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Friday, September 8, 1939
•
2 min read (361 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (361 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

I hereby direct the Secretary of the Treasury, when so requested by the 'Secretary of State, to transfer on the books of the Treasury, for expenditure from the appropriation "Emergencies Arising in the Diplomatic and Consular Service," from any appropriation in the said Act under the heading "Foreign Intercourse," such sums not to exceed in all $500,000 as the Secretary of State may from time to time during the existing emergency find necessary; and funds so transferred shall be expended subject only to the requirement of section 29, of the Revised Statutes of the United States (31 U.S.C. 107).

View all 1 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Foreign Nations & International Entities
Inspect unabridged text ↓

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 8, 1939, this order concerns Making Funds Available for the Protection of American Citizens in Foreign Countries During the Existing Emergency. I hereby direct the Secretary of the Treasury, when so requested by the 'Secretary of State, to transfer on the books of the Treasury, for expenditure from the appropriation "Emergencies Arising in the Diplomatic and Consular Service," from any appropriation in the said Act under the heading "Foreign Intercourse," such sums not to exceed in all $500,000 as the Secretary of State may from time to time during the…

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 direct the Secretary of the Treasury, when so requested by the 'Secretary of State, to transfer on the books of the Treasury, for expenditure from the appropriation "Emergencies Arising in the Diplomatic and Consular Service," from any appropriation in the said Act under the heading "Foreign Intercourse," such sums not to exceed in all $500,000 as the Secretary of State may from time to time during the existing emergency find necessary; and funds so transferred shall be expended subject only to the requirement of section 29, of the Revised Statutes of the United States (31 U.S.C. 107).

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

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

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Foreign Policy & Diplomacy 🏷️ Economy & Finance
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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
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
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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
35 / 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

Moderate Friction

Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.

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
361
2,305 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
33.7
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.55
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

Whereas the Department of State Appropriation Act, 1940 (53 Stat. 890), provides, in part, as follows: "EMERGENCIES ARISING IN THE DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR SERVICE "Emergencies arising in the Diplomatic and Consular Service: To enable the President to meet unforeseen emergencies arising in the Diplomatic and Consular Service, and to extend the commercial and other interests of the United States and to meet the necessary expenses attendant upon the execution of the Neutrality Act, to be expended pursuant to the requirement of section 291 of the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 107), $175,000: Provided, That whenever the President shall find that a state of emergency exists endangering the lives of American citizens in any foreign country, he may make available for expenditure for the protection of such citizens, by transfer to this appropriation, not to exceed $500,000 from the various appropriations contained herein under the heading "Foreign Intercourse"; and reimbursements by American citizens to whom relief has been extended shall be credited to any appropriation from which funds have been transferred for the purposes hereof, except that reimbursements so credited to any appropriation shall not exceed the amount transferred therefrom." And Whereas I find and declare that an emergency exists endangering the lives of American citizens in foreign countries within the meaning of the said Act: Now, Therefore , by virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the above-quoted statutory provisions, and in order to meet such emergency and make funds available for the protection of American citizens in foreign countries, I hereby direct the Secretary of the Treasury, when so requested by the 'Secretary of State, to transfer on the books of the Treasury, for expenditure from the appropriation "Emergencies Arising in the Diplomatic and Consular Service," from any appropriation in the said Act under the heading "Foreign Intercourse," such sums not to exceed in all $500,000 as the Secretary of State may from time to time during the existing emergency find necessary; and funds so transferred shall be expended subject only to the requirement of section 29, of the Revised Statutes of the United States (31 U.S.C. 107). FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, September 8, 1939.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 8246 (Sept. 8, 1939), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8246-making-funds-available-for-the-protection-american-citizens-foreign.