Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
This executive order, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 1940-08-16, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Modification of Executive Order No. 2123 of January 20, 1915, Reserving Certain Public Land as a Native Bird Refuge." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.
Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪WASHINGTON By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is ordered that Executive Order No.
▪2123 of January 20, 1915, reserving certain public land in the State of Washington as a refuge, preserve and breeding ground for native birds, known as Dungeness Spit Reservation, be, and the same is hereby, modified to the extent necessary to permit the Navy Department to have primary jurisdiction over the following-described land for naval purposes: WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN T.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
Total Words
127
709 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
9
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 8518, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Aug 16, 1940). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8518-modification-executive-order-no-2123-january-20-1915-reserving.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
WASHINGTON By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is ordered that Executive Order No. 2123 of January 20, 1915, reserving certain public land in the State of Washington as a refuge, preserve and breeding ground for native birds, known as Dungeness Spit Reservation, be, and the same is hereby, modified to the extent necessary to permit the Navy Department to have primary jurisdiction over the following-described land for naval purposes: WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN T. 31 N., R. 4 W., Sec. 13, lots 1, 2, 3, and 4, Sec. 14, lot 1, Sec. 24, lots 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Sec. 25, lot 5, Sec. 26, lot 3, aggregating 147.50 acres. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, August 16, 1940.
