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Executive Order 8495 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 8495—Designation of Agencies for the Purpose of Carrying Out the Provisions of Section 40 of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, Fiscal Year 1941

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Friday, July 26, 1940
•
2 min read (334 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (334 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

I hereby designate the Secretary of Agriculture, in respect to agricultural supplies, and the Secretary of the Treasury, in respect to other materials and supplies, to purchase, to transport to points of embarkation determined by The American Red Cross, or by such other agency as I may hereafter designate, and to deliver to The American Red Cross or to such other agency at such points, materials and supplies for the relief of refugee men, women, and children who have been driven from their homes or otherwise rendered destitute by hostilities or invasion. 2.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Private Citizens & Property Owners Public Health & Medical Institutions Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
Inspect unabridged text ↓

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 26, 1940, this order concerns Designation of Agencies for the Purpose of Carrying Out the Provisions of Section 40 of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, Fiscal Year 1941. By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 40 of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, Fiscal Year 1941, approved June 26, 1940 (Public Resolution No. 88, 76th Congress), and of all other authority vested in me, and in order to effectuate the purposes of said act: 1.

Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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I hereby designate the Secretary of Agriculture, in respect to agricultural supplies, and the Secretary of the Treasury, in respect to other materials and supplies, to purchase, to transport to points of embarkation determined by The American Red Cross, or by such other agency as I may hereafter designate, and to deliver to The American Red Cross or to such other agency at such points, materials and supplies for the relief of refugee men, women, and children who have been driven from their homes or otherwise rendered destitute by hostilities or invasion. 2.

▪

I hereby designate The American Red Cross as an agency to receive and transport such materials and supplies from points of embarkation to such points of distribution as it may determine, and to distribute such materials and supplies in accordance with the provisions of said act. 3.

▪

The materials and supplies to be purchased in accordance with this order shall, in the case of agricultural supplies, be determined jointly by the Secretary of Agriculture and The American Red Cross, and in the case of other materials and supplies, jointly by the Secretary of the Treasury and The American Red Cross. 4.

▪

Upon delivery to and receipt by The American Red Cross of such materials and supplies in accordance herewith ownership thereof and title thereto shall pass to The American Red Cross for the purpose of distribution in accordance with the provisions of the above act and of this order. 5.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Agriculture 🏷️ Economy & Finance
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating 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

"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.

Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
GM

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.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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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
19 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

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

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Low Friction

Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

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

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

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%).
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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
334
1,976 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
20.7
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 40 of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, Fiscal Year 1941, approved June 26, 1940 (Public Resolution No. 88, 76th Congress), and of all other authority vested in me, and in order to effectuate the purposes of said act: 1. I hereby designate the Secretary of Agriculture, in respect to agricultural supplies, and the Secretary of the Treasury, in respect to other materials and supplies, to purchase, to transport to points of embarkation determined by The American Red Cross, or by such other agency as I may hereafter designate, and to deliver to The American Red Cross or to such other agency at such points, materials and supplies for the relief of refugee men, women, and children who have been driven from their homes or otherwise rendered destitute by hostilities or invasion. 2. I hereby designate The American Red Cross as an agency to receive and transport such materials and supplies from points of embarkation to such points of distribution as it may determine, and to distribute such materials and supplies in accordance with the provisions of said act. 3. The materials and supplies to be purchased in accordance with this order shall, in the case of agricultural supplies, be determined jointly by the Secretary of Agriculture and The American Red Cross, and in the case of other materials and supplies, jointly by the Secretary of the Treasury and The American Red Cross. 4. Upon delivery to and receipt by The American Red Cross of such materials and supplies in accordance herewith ownership thereof and title thereto shall pass to The American Red Cross for the purpose of distribution in accordance with the provisions of the above act and of this order. 5. An itemized and detailed report of the expenditures and activities made and conducted under the authority of this order shall be submitted to me not later than May 31, 1941. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, July 26, 1940.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

References Executive Order 8943—Amending Executive Order No. 8495 of July 26, 1940, Designating Agencies for the Purpose of Carrying Out the Provisions of Section 40 of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, Fiscal Year 1941
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1941-11-19
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 8495 (July 26, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8495-designation-agencies-for-the-purpose-carrying-out-the-provisions.