ALASKA By virtue of the authority vested in me 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 as follows: SEC. 1. Executive Order No. 6039 of February 20, 1933, reserving public lands in Alaska for the use of the War Department as a radio station, and for the use of the Alaska Game Commission for pasturage and other purposes, is hereby revoked insofar as it affects the following-described lands: TRACT NO. 1 Beginning at corner No. 5 of amended United States Survey No. 1272. Thence from said initial point, by metes and bounds, S. 34°43' E., 14.74 chains, to corner No. 6; East, 14.60 chains, along line 6-7 of said U.S. Survey No. 1272, to the southeasterly line of right-of-way for wagon road; Northeasterly, 29.00 chains, more or less, along said southeasterly line of right-of-way, to an intersection with line 3-4 of said U.S. Survey No. 1272; N. 34°43' W., 18.00 chains, more or less, to corner No. 4; S. 55°17' W., 40.00 chains, to the place of beginning. The tract as described contains an area of 77.22 acres, more or less. TRACT NO. 2 Beginning at corner No. 1 of amended United States Survey No. 1272. Thence from said initial point, by metes and bounds, S. 34°43' E., 4.56 chains, to the true point for corner No. 2, M. C., on St. Paul Harbor; Along the meanders of St. Paul Harbor the following six courses; N. 52°44' E., 1.80 chains, to a point; N. 33°43' E., 2.29 chains, to a point; N. 61°57' E., 2.06 chains, to a point; N. 42°03' E., 2.44 chains, to a point; N. 61°38' E., 7.87 chains, to a point; N. 42°46' E., 1.59 chains, to the true point for corner No. 3, M. C.; N. 34°43' W., 7.76 chains, to a point; S. 55°17' W., 27.39 chains, to a point; S. 34°43' E., 3.92 chains, to an intersection with line 11-1 of said U.S. Survey No. 1272; N. 55°17' E., 9.67 chains, along said line 11-1, to the place of beginning. The tract as described contains an area of 17.59 acres, more or less. The directions of the lines refer to the true meridian, the magnetic variation in 1920 being recorded as 20 degrees east. SEC. 2. The following-described lands on Kodiak Island, Alaska, having a total area of approximately 531.40 acres, are hereby reserved for town-site purposes under section 2380 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, to be hereafter disposed of under applicable town-site laws: (1) All the vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved public land lying between amended U. S. Survey No. 1272 and the east boundary of the Naval reserve withdrawn by Executive Order No. 8278 of October 28, 1939, and between the steep high hills and the waters of St. Paul Harbor, containing 100 acres, more or less. (2) The lands described in section 1 of this order, containing approximately 94.81 acres. (3) The land designated as U.S. Survey No. 1389, containing approximately 336.59 acres, placed under the control of the Secretary of the Interior by Executive Order No. 6039 of February 20, 1933. SEC. 3. The reservation made by section 2 of this order shall remain in force until revoked by the President or by act of Congress. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, June 12, 1940.
Executive Order 8442—Revoking in Part Executive Order No. 6039 of February 20, 1933, and Reserving Certain Lands for Town Site Purposes
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Executive Order No. 6039 of February 20, 1933, reserving public lands in Alaska for the use of the War Department as a radio station, and for the use of the Alaska Game Commission for pasturage and other purposes, is hereby revoked insofar as it affects the following-described lands: TRACT NO. 1 Beginning at corner No. 5 of amended United States Survey No. 1272.
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 June 12, 1940, this order concerns Revoking in Part Executive Order No. 6039 of February 20, 1933, and Reserving Certain Lands for Town Site Purposes. Executive Order No. 6039 of February 20, 1933, reserving public lands in Alaska for the use of the War Department as a radio station, and for the use of the Alaska Game Commission for pasturage and other purposes, is hereby revoked insofar as it affects the following-described lands: TRACT NO. 1 Beginning at corner No. 5 of amended United States Survey No. 1272.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Executive Order No. 6039 of February 20, 1933, reserving public lands in Alaska for the use of the War Department as a radio station, and for the use of the Alaska Game Commission for pasturage and other purposes, is hereby revoked insofar as it affects the following-described lands: TRACT NO. 1 Beginning at corner No. 5 of amended United States Survey No. 1272.
TRACT NO. 2 Beginning at corner No. 1 of amended United States Survey No. 1272.
The following-described lands on Kodiak Island, Alaska, having a total area of approximately 531.40 acres, are hereby reserved for town-site purposes under section 2380 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, to be hereafter disposed of under applicable town-site laws: (1) All the vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved public land lying between amended U. S. Survey No. 1272 and the east boundary of the Naval reserve withdrawn by Executive Order No. 8278 of October 28, 1939, and between the steep high hills and the waters of St. Paul Harbor, containing 100 acres, more or less.
The land designated as U.S. Survey No. 1389, containing approximately 336.59 acres, placed under the control of the Secretary of the Interior by Executive Order No. 6039 of February 20, 1933.
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
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
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. 8442 (June 12, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8442-revoking-part-executive-order-no-6039-february-20-1933-and-reserving.