Whereas certain lands, including such necessary rights-of-way thereto across any adjoining territorial lands, in Makua Valley, District of Waianae, on the island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, were set aside for military purposes of the United States by Executive Order No. 351, dated January 23, 1929, of the Governor of the Territory of Hawaii, which lands how comprise Parcels 2 and 3 of the Makua Military Reservation; and Whereas such lands are no longer required for military purposes of the United States, and it is in the public interest that they be restored to the use of the Territory of Hawaii: Now, Therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 91 of the act of April 30, 1900, 31 Stat. 159, as amended by section 7 of the act of May 27, 1910, 36 Stat. 447, it is ordered that the two following-described parcels of land comprising a part of the Makua Military Reservation, including such necessary rights-of-way thereto across any adjoining territorial lands, Territory of Hawaii, be, and they are hereby, restored to their previous status for the use of the Territory of Hawaii, subject to the right of the War Department to remove such material as is needed from the howitzer emplacements, if such removal has not been accomplished prior to the date of this order: PARCEL NO. 2 Beginning at concrete monument No. 1, marking the southwest corner of the tract, from which the azimuth and distance to U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey triangulation station "Lolo" is 335°26'07", 6,519.82 feet; Thence from said initial point by azimuths and distances, 173°23'00", 330.00 feet, to concrete monument No. 4; 269°02'30", 685.30 feet, to concrete monument No. 5; 359°02'30", 450.00 feet, to concrete monument No. 6; 81°50'00", 350.00 feet, to concrete monument No. 7; 117°29'30", 347.50 feet, to the point of beginning. This tract as described contains an area of 6.77 acres. PARCEL NO. 3 Beginning at concrete monument No. 1, marking the northeast corner of the tract, from which the azimuth and distance to U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey triangulation station "Lolo" is 330°37'48", 6,420.90 feet; Thence from said initial point, by azimuths and distances 356°02'00", 300.00 feet, to comer No. 2, marked by a brass plate in rock; 86°02'00", 300.00 feet, to concrete monument No. 3; 176°02'00", 300.00 feet, to concrete monument No. 4; 266°02'00", 300.00 feet, to the point of beginning. This tract as described contains an area of 2.07 acres. The azimuths are measured clockwise from the true south. The said Parcels Nos. 2 and 3 together contain an area of 8.84 acres, and are shown on map No. 11-1 7 F 33, entitled "Makua Mil. Reservation", dated March 1933, which was prepared in the office of the Department Engineer, Hawaiian Department, Fort Shafter, T.H., 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 12, 1940.
Executive Order 8393—Restoring Certain Lands Comprising Part of the Makua Military Reservation to the Use of the Territory of Hawaii
Executive Brief • At a Glance
The two following-described parcels of land comprising a part of the Makua Military Reservation, including such necessary rights-of-way thereto across any adjoining territorial lands, Territory of Hawaii, be, and they are hereby, restored to their previous status for the use of the Territory of Hawaii, subject to the right of the War Department to remove such material as is needed from the howitzer emplacements, if such removal has not been accomplished prior to the date of this order: PARCEL NO. 2 Beginning at concrete monument No. 1, marking the southwest corner of the tract, from which the azimuth and distance to U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey triangulation station "Lolo" is 335°26'07", 6,519.82 feet; Thence from said initial point by…
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 12, 1940, this order concerns Restoring Certain Lands Comprising Part of the Makua Military Reservation to the Use of the Territory of Hawaii. The two following-described parcels of land comprising a part of the Makua Military Reservation, including such necessary rights-of-way thereto across any adjoining territorial lands, Territory of Hawaii, be, and they are hereby, restored to their previous status for the use of the Territory of Hawaii, subject to the right of the War Department to remove such material as is needed from the howitzer emplacements, if…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
The two following-described parcels of land comprising a part of the Makua Military Reservation, including such necessary rights-of-way thereto across any adjoining territorial lands, Territory of Hawaii, be, and they are hereby, restored to their previous status for the use of the Territory of Hawaii, subject to the right of the War Department to remove such material as is needed from the howitzer emplacements, if such removal has not been accomplished prior to the date of this order: PARCEL NO. 2 Beginning at concrete monument No. 1, marking the southwest corner of the tract, from which the azimuth and distance to U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey triangulation station "Lolo" is 335°26'07", 6,519.82 feet; Thence from said initial point by…
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.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 8393 (Apr. 12, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8393-restoring-certain-lands-comprising-part-the-makua-military.