ARKANSAS By virtue of and pursuant to 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, and subject to valid existing rights and withdrawals, it is ordered that the following-described public lands in Arkansas be, and they are hereby, temporarily withdrawn from settlement, location, sale, or entry, for use in connection with the construction of the Norfork Dam and Reservoir on the North Fork of the White River, under the supervision of the War Department as authorized by the act of June 28, 1938, c. 795, 52 Stat. 1215: FIFTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 18 N., R. 11 W., sec. 6, W ½ of lot 1 of NW ¼, E ½ of lot 2 of NW ¼. T. 19 N., R. 11 W., sec. 6, W ½ of lot 2; sec. 20, NW ¼ SW ¼; sec. 21, NE ¼ NE ¼; sec. 27, NW ¼ NW ¼; sec. 29, NW ¼ NW ¼; sec. 30, S ½ SW ¼. T. 20 N., R. 11 W., sec. 6, SE ¼ SW ¼. T. 18 N., R. 12 W., sec. 1, W ½ NE ¼, SW ¼ SE ¼; sec. 11, lots 1 and 2. T. 19 N., R. 12 W., sec. 1, S ½ NE ¼, N ½ SE ¼, NE ¼ SW ¼; sec. 4, W ½ of lot 1 of NE ¼; sec. 5, E ½ of lot 2 of NE ¼; sec. 9, NE ¼ SW ¼; sec. 10, SW ¼ NW ¼, that part of NW ¼ SE ¼ east of North Fork of White River; sec. 11, N ½ NW ¼, E ½ SW ¼, S ½ SE ¼; sec 12, NE ¼ SW ¼; sec. 13, fractional S ½ SW ¼; sec. 14, NE ¼, that part of SE ¼ SE ¼ north of North Fork of White River; sec. 15, NE ¼ SE ¼; sec. 21, NE ¼ NW ¼; sec. 22, S ½ SW ¼, SE ¼ SW ¼; sec. 23, N ½ SW ¼, SE ¼ SW ¼, SE ¼ NE ¼; sec. 24, SW ¼ SW ¼, that part of NW ¼ SW ¼ east of North Fort of White River; sec. 25, NE ¼ SE ¼; sec. 26, SE ¼ SW ¼; sec. 27, NW ¼, NE ¼ SW ¼; sec. 28, S ½ SE ¼; sec. 33, SE ¼ NE ¼; sec. 34, lot 2, NW ¼ NW ¼, S ½ NW ¼, SW ¼ SW ¼, E ½ SE ¼; sec. 36, NW ¼ NW ¼. T. 20 N., R. 12 W., sec. 1, NW ¼ NW ¼; sec. 2, SE ¼ SW ¼; sec. 4, that part of W ½ SE ¼ south of North Fork of White River; sec. 6, W ½ NW ¼, NW ¼ SW ¼; sec. 8, NE ¼, NE ¼ SE ¼; sec. 9, W ½ SW ¼; sec. 10, NE ¼ SE ¼; sec. 14, SW ¼ SW ¼; sec. 20, SE ¼ NE ¼; sec. 27, that part of N ½ NW ¼ north of North Fork of White River, that part of W ½ NW ¼ south of North Fork of White River; sec. 28, E ½ SW ¼, SW ¼ SE ¼; sec. 33, N ½ NW ¼, W ½ SW ¼, NW ¼ NE ¼, S ½ NE ¼, N ½ SE ¼, SE ¼ SE ¼; sec. 34, S ½ NE ¼ SE ¼; T. 21 N., R. 12 W., sec. 10, all; sec. 15, NE ¼ NE ¼, that part of SW ¼ SW ¼ west of North Fork of White River; sec. 20, SW ¼ SE ¼; sec. 21, NE ¼ NE ¼; sec. 29, that part of SE ¼ west of North Fork of White River; sec. 31, SW ¼ SE ¼, SE ¼ SW ¼; sec. 32, NW ¼ NE ¼. T. 20 N., R. 13 W., sec. 15, NW ¼ NE ¼; aggregating 4260.285 acres. This order supersedes as to any of the above-described lands affected thereby the withdrawal made by Executive Order No. 6964 of February 5, 1935, as amended. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, November 8, 1940.
Executive Order 8591—Withdrawal of Public Land in Aid of Flood Control
Executive Brief • At a Glance
The following-described public lands in Arkansas be, and they are hereby, temporarily withdrawn from settlement, location, sale, or entry, for use in connection with the construction of the Norfork Dam and Reservoir on the North Fork of the White River, under the supervision of the War Department as authorized by the act of June 28, 1938, c. 795, 52 Stat. 1215: FIFTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 18 N., R. 11 W., sec. 6, W ½ of lot 1 of NW ¼, E ½ of lot 2 of NW ¼.
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 November 8, 1940, this order concerns Withdrawal of Public Land in Aid of Flood Control. The following-described public lands in Arkansas be, and they are hereby, temporarily withdrawn from settlement, location, sale, or entry, for use in connection with the construction of the Norfork Dam and Reservoir on the North Fork of the White River, under the supervision of the War Department as authorized by the act of June 28, 1938, c. 795, 52 Stat. 1215: FIFTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 18 N., R. 11 W., sec. 6, W…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
The following-described public lands in Arkansas be, and they are hereby, temporarily withdrawn from settlement, location, sale, or entry, for use in connection with the construction of the Norfork Dam and Reservoir on the North Fork of the White River, under the supervision of the War Department as authorized by the act of June 28, 1938, c. 795, 52 Stat. 1215: FIFTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 18 N., R. 11 W., sec. 6, W ½ of lot 1 of NW ¼, E ½ of lot 2 of NW ¼.
This order supersedes as to any of the above-described lands affected thereby the withdrawal made by Executive Order No. 6964 of February 5, 1935, as amended.
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
Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.
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. 8591 (Nov. 8, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8591-withdrawal-public-land-aid-flood-control.