Whereas a tract of land near Puolo Point, Hanapepe, Island of Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, containing 84.40 acres, was set aside for military purposes of the United States by Presidential Executive Order No. 4760, dated November 15, 1927; and Whereas by Presidential Executive Order No. 5405, dated July 25, 1930, all of the land previously set aside for military purposes of the United States by the said Presidential Executive Order No. 4760 was restored to the use of the territory of Hawaii for aeronautical purposes, with the exception of an area of 5.994 acres which was set apart for military purposes of the United States, and an area of 0.370 acres reserved as a 30-foot roadway for the United States Lighthouse Service, and for other purposes; and Whereas an adjustment of the boundary of the areas at Hanapepe, Island of Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, operated separately by the Territory of Hawaii as "Port Allen Airport" and by the War Department for military purposes of the United States, requires the restoration to the use of the Territory of Hawaii for aeronautical purposes of the area of 5.994 acres reserved for military purposes of the United States by Presidential Executive Order No. 5405, dated July 25, 1930, and the reservation in lieu thereof of an area of 17.82 acres for military purposes of the United States: Now, Therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 91 of the act of Congress approved April 30, 1900, 31 Stat. 141, 159, as amended by section 7 of the act of Congress approved May 27, 1910, 36 Stat. 443, 447, it is ordered (1) that the said tract of land containing 5.994 acres, described in Presidential Executive Order No. 5405, dated July 25, 1930, as "Area retained for military purposes" (and not including or affecting the area embracing 0.37 of an acre reserved for the use of the United States Lighthouse Service by the said Executive Order No. 5405 as a 30-foot roadway, and for other purposes), be, and it is hereby, restored to the use of the Territory of Hawaii for aeronautical purposes, and (2) that the tract of land situate near Puolo Point, adjoining Port Allen Airport, Hanapepe, Island of Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, containing 17.82 acres, be, and it is hereby, set aside for military purposes of the United States, said tract of land being more particularly described as follows: Being a portion of the United States Military Reservation described in Presidential Executive Order 5405, dated July 25, 1930, a portion of Port Allen Airport described in the Governor's Executive Orders No. 330, dated April 14, 1928, and No. 431, dated September 18, 1930, and a portion of the Territorial land of Hanapepe Beginning at the West corner of this parcel of land, and on the South side of Hawaiian Sugar Company's railroad right-of-way, sixty (60) feet wide, the coordinates of said point of beginning referred to Government Survey Triangulation Station "PUOLO" being 2949.47 feet North and 1007.07 feet East, as shown on Government Survey Registered Map 2701, and running by azimuths measured clockwise from true South: 258°50'00" 564.45 feet along the South side of Hawaiian Sugar Company's railroad right-of-way (General Lease 1343); Thence on a curve of said right-of-way to the left with a radius of 527.20 feet, along same, the chord azimuth and distance being 245°38'45 " 240.55 feet; 232°27'30" 629.83 feet along the South side of said right-of-way; 2°54'30" 28.30 feet along the Northwest side of the right-of-way of the proposed Airport Road, along Territorial land; Thence along same on a curve to the right with a radius of 1402.43 feet, along Territorial land and remaining portion of Port Allen Airport (Governor's Executive Order 330, dated April 14, 1928), the chord azimuth and distance being 24°03'45" 1012.21 feet; 45°13'00" 157.31 feet along the Northwest side of the right-of-way of the proposed Airport Road along remaining portion of Port Allen Airport (Governor's Executive Orders 330, dated April 14, 1928, and 431, dated September 18, 1930); 40°39'00" 126.18 feet along the Northwest side of the right-of-way of the proposed Airport Road along the remaining portion of Port Allen Airport (Governor's Executive Order 431, dated September 18, 1930) to a point on the northeast boundary of the United States Military Reservation (Presidential Executive Order No. 5405, dated July 25, 1930); 23°32'30" 170.07 feet; 57°08'00" 98.36 feet; 147°08'00" 70.00 feet; 57°08'00" 200.00 feet to a point on the southwest boundary of the United States Military Reservation (Presidential Executive Order No. 5405, dated July 25, 1930); 147°08'00" 130.00 feet along the line between the United States Military Reservation (Presidential Executive Order No. 5405, dated July 25, 1930) and the remaining portion of Port Allen Airport (Governor's Executive Order 431, dated September 18, 1930); 161°41'00" 754.87 feet along the remaining portion of Port Allen Airport (Governor's Executive Order 330, dated April 14, 1928) and Territorial land to the point of beginning. The tract as described contains an area of 17.82 acres, more or less, 1.546 acres of which are included within the boundary of the military reservation set aside by the said Presidential Executive Order 5405, dated July 25, 1930, and is shown on map C. S. F. No. 8933, entitled "Proposed U. S. Military Reservation, Hanapepe, Kona, Kauai," dated January 16, 1939, and prepared by the Survey Department of the Territory of Hawaii, a copy of which is on file in the Office of the Quartermaster General, War Department, Washington, D. C. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, April 5, 1940.
Executive Order 8388—Restoring Certain Land to the Use of the Territory of Hawaii and Setting Aside Certain Land in Lieu Thereof for Military Purposes of the United States
Executive Brief • At a Glance
That the said tract of land containing 5.994 acres, described in Presidential Executive Order No. 5405, dated July 25, 1930, as "Area retained for military purposes" (and not including or affecting the area embracing 0.37 of an acre reserved for the use of the United States Lighthouse Service by the said Executive Order No. 5405 as a 30-foot roadway, and for other purposes), be, and it is hereby, restored to the use of the Territory of Hawaii for aeronautical purposes, and (2) that the tract of land situate near Puolo Point, adjoining Port Allen Airport, Hanapepe, Island of Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, containing 17.82 acres, be, and it is hereby, set aside for military purposes of the United States, said tract of land being more…
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 5, 1940, this order concerns Restoring Certain Land to the Use of the Territory of Hawaii and Setting Aside Certain Land in Lieu Thereof for Military Purposes of the United States. That the said tract of land containing 5.994 acres, described in Presidential Executive Order No. 5405, dated July 25, 1930, as "Area retained for military purposes" (and not including or affecting the area embracing 0.37 of an acre reserved for the use of the United States Lighthouse Service by the said Executive Order No. 5405 as a 30-foot roadway, and for other purposes), be, and it is hereby, restored to the…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
That the said tract of land containing 5.994 acres, described in Presidential Executive Order No. 5405, dated July 25, 1930, as "Area retained for military purposes" (and not including or affecting the area embracing 0.37 of an acre reserved for the use of the United States Lighthouse Service by the said Executive Order No. 5405 as a 30-foot roadway, and for other purposes), be, and it is hereby, restored to the use of the Territory of Hawaii for aeronautical purposes, and (2) that the tract of land situate near Puolo Point, adjoining Port Allen Airport, Hanapepe, Island of Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, containing 17.82 acres, be, and it is hereby, set aside for military purposes of the United States, said tract of land being more…
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
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.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
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.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 8388 (Apr. 5, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8388-restoring-certain-land-the-use-the-territory-hawaii-and-setting-aside.