By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 5 (b) of the Act of October 6, 1917 (40 Stat. 411), as amended, and by virtue of all other authority vested in me, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do hereby amend Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as amended, amending Executive Order No. 6560 of January 15, 1934, by adding the following sections after section 12 thereof: "Section 13 A. The following are prohibited except as specifically authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury by means of rulings, regulations, instructions, licenses, or otherwise: "(1) The acquisition, disposition or transfer of, or other dealing in, or with respect to, any security or evidence thereof on which there is stamped or imprinted, or to which there is affixed or otherwise attached, a tax stamp or other stamp of a foreign country designated in this Order, or a notarial or similar seal which by its contents indicates that it was stamped, imprinted, affixed or attached within such foreign country, or where the attendant circumstances disclose or indicate that such a stamp or seal may, at any time, have been stamped, imprinted, affixed or attached thereto. "(2) The acquisition by, or transfer to, any person within the United States of any interest in any security or evidence thereof if the attendant circumstances disclose or indicate that the security or evidence thereof is not physically situated within the United States. "B. The Secretary of the Treasury may investigate, regulate, or prohibit under such rulings, regulations, or instructions as he may prescribe, by means of licenses or otherwise, the sending, mailing, importing or otherwise bringing, directly or indirectly, into the United States, from any foreign country, of any securities or evidences thereof or the receiving or holding in the United States of any securities or evidences thereof so brought into the United States. The provisions of General Ruling No. 5 of June 6, 1940, and all instructions issued pursuant thereto, are hereby continued in full force and effect, subject to amendment, modification or revocation pursuant to the provisions of this Order. "C. In the case of any transaction covered by this section, an application for license may be filed in the manner indicated in the Regulations of April 10, 1940, as amended, issued pursuant to this Order. "D. The Regulations of November 12, 1934, are hereby modified in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this section. "Section 14. The Secretary of the Treasury may require any person to furnish under oath, complete information relative to any transaction referred to in this Order, or with respect to any property in which any foreign country designated in this Order, or any national thereof, has any interest, including the production of any books of account, contracts, letters, or other papers, in connection therewith, in the custody or control of such person, either before or after such transaction is completed." FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, July 25, 1940.
Executive Order 8493—Amendment of Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as Amended
Executive Brief • At a Glance
I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do hereby amend Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as amended, amending Executive Order No. 6560 of January 15, 1934, by adding the following sections after section 12 thereof: "Section 13 A. The following are prohibited except as specifically authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury by means of rulings, regulations, instructions, licenses, or otherwise: "(1) The acquisition, disposition or transfer of, or other dealing in, or with respect to, any security or evidence thereof on which there is stamped or imprinted, or to which there is affixed or otherwise attached, a tax stamp or other stamp of a foreign country designated in this Order, or a notarial or…
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 July 25, 1940, this order concerns Amendment of Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as Amended. I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do hereby amend Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as amended, amending Executive Order No. 6560 of January 15, 1934, by adding the following sections after section 12 thereof: "Section 13 A. The following are prohibited except as specifically authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury by means of rulings, regulations, instructions…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do hereby amend Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as amended, amending Executive Order No. 6560 of January 15, 1934, by adding the following sections after section 12 thereof: "Section 13 A. The following are prohibited except as specifically authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury by means of rulings, regulations, instructions, licenses, or otherwise: "(1) The acquisition, disposition or transfer of, or other dealing in, or with respect to, any security or evidence thereof on which there is stamped or imprinted, or to which there is affixed or otherwise attached, a tax stamp or other stamp of a foreign country designated in this Order, or a notarial or…
"(2) The acquisition by, or transfer to, any person within the United States of any interest in any security or evidence thereof if the attendant circumstances disclose or indicate that the security or evidence thereof is not physically situated within the United States.
"B. The Secretary of the Treasury may investigate, regulate, or prohibit under such rulings, regulations, or instructions as he may prescribe, by means of licenses or otherwise, the sending, mailing, importing or otherwise bringing, directly or indirectly, into the United States, from any foreign country, of any securities or evidences thereof or the receiving or holding in the United States of any securities or evidences thereof so brought into the United States.
The provisions of General Ruling No. 5 of June 6, 1940, and all instructions issued pursuant thereto, are hereby continued in full force and effect, subject to amendment, modification or revocation pursuant to the provisions of this Order.
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 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."
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.
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
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
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
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 8493 (July 25, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8493-amendment-executive-order-no-8389-april-10-1940-amended.