Under the authority vested in me by section 1(b) of Part I of Reorganization Plan No. II (effective July 1, 1939, by Public Resolution approved June 7, 1939, 53 Stat. 1431), and in effectuation of the provisions of subdivisions (2), (3), and (4) of that section, I hereby prescribe the following regulations pertaining to officers designated by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Agriculture under the said subdivisions: 1. Officers designated by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Agriculture under subdivisions (2) and (3), respectively, of the said section 1(b) of Part I of Reorganization Plan No. II may, when acceptable to the Secretary of State, be sent abroad as specialists or technicians for temporary service under the provisions of, and subject to the conditions named in, section 5 of the act of March 3, 1927, 44 Stat. 1396, and section 2 of the act of June 5, 1930, 46 Stat. 498, as authorized by the said subdivisions (2) and (3), respectively. 2. The Secretary of State shall give suitable commissions to the officers described in paragraph 1 hereof and shall assign them to such offices as may be deemed necessary by him and the Secretary of the department concerned. Such officers, during the active period of their assignment, shall be considered a part of the organization of the Foreign Service, shall assume the status directed by the Secretary of State, and shall, in this respect, be subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State. With the approval of the chief of the office to which they are attached, such officers may request reports from Foreign Service officers upon matters falling within the jurisdiction of their respective departments. The duties of such officers shall be restricted to the accomplishment of the special missions within the scope of their assignments. 3. The officers designated by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Agriculture under subdivision (4) of the said section 1(b) of Part I of Reorganization Plan No. II to serve in the Department of State as liaison officers shall, when acceptable to the Secretary of State, serve in matters of interest to their respective departments. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, March 2, 1940.
Executive Order 8357 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Executive Order 8357—Administration of the Foreign Service Under Reorganization Plan No. II
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (370 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
I hereby prescribe the following regulations pertaining to officers designated by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Agriculture under the said subdivisions: 1.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners
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 2, 1940, this order concerns Administration of the Foreign Service Under Reorganization Plan No. II. I hereby prescribe the following regulations pertaining to officers designated by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Agriculture under the said subdivisions: 1. Officers designated by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Agriculture under subdivisions (2) and (3), respectively, of the said section 1(b) of Part I of Reorganization Plan No. II may, when acceptable to the Secretary of State, be…
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
▪
I hereby prescribe the following regulations pertaining to officers designated by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Agriculture under the said subdivisions: 1.
▪
Officers designated by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Agriculture under subdivisions (2) and (3), respectively, of the said section 1(b) of Part I of Reorganization Plan No. II may, when acceptable to the Secretary of State, be sent abroad as specialists or technicians for temporary service under the provisions of, and subject to the conditions named in, section 5 of the act of March 3, 1927, 44 Stat. 1396, and section 2 of the act of June 5, 1930, 46 Stat. 498, as authorized by the said subdivisions (2) and (3), respectively. 2.
▪
The Secretary of State shall give suitable commissions to the officers described in paragraph 1 hereof and shall assign them to such offices as may be deemed necessary by him and the Secretary of the department concerned.
▪
Such officers, during the active period of their assignment, shall be considered a part of the organization of the Foreign Service, shall assume the status directed by the Secretary of State, and shall, in this respect, be subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
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
"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
📐
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
28 / 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
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
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
370
2,233 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
14.6
College Level
Text size:
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📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
I hereby prescribe the following rules governing precedence as between officers of the Foreign Service of the United States and officers or accredited representatives of other Executive departments or establishments of the United States Government: 1.
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⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
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📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Mrs. Rose S. Rutledge may be appointed to a clerical position in the Department of Agriculture without compliance with the requirements of the Civil Service Rules.
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📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 8357 (Mar. 2, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8357-administration-the-foreign-service-under-reorganization-plan-no-ii.
