VIRGIN ISLANDS By virtue of the authority vested in me by the act of March 3, 1917, ch. 171, 39 Stat. 1132, and the Second Deficiency Act, Fiscal Year 1931, 46 Stat. 1552, 1570, and as President of the United States, Executive Order No. 7302 of February 21, 1936, transferring certain lands in the Virgin Islands from the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior to the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy for use in the establishment, construction, and operation of aviation facilities, as amended by Executive Orders No. 7686 of August 5, 1937, No. 7790 of January 12, 1938, No. 8103 of May 2, 1939, and No. 8201 of July 11, 1939, is hereby further amended by adding thereto the following: "It is further ordered that the tract of land lying between Bourne Field and the Botanical Garden, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, more particularly described below by metes and bounds, be, and it is hereby, subject to valid existing rights, transferred from the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior to the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy for use in the establishment, construction and operation of aviation facilities at the Naval Air Station, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands: "Beginning at Bench Post 781 (also described as Point R), thence north 11°3' west, 142.37 feet, to Bench Post 750; thence north 32°43 ' west, 126.27 feet to Bench Post 751; thence north 12°34' east, 49.1 feet, to Bench Post 752; thence north 54°55' west, 145.9 feet, to Bench Post 753; thence north 40°40' west, 76.17 feet, to Bench Post 754; thence north 35°35' west, 72.95 feet, to Bench Post 755; thence north 65°02' west, 81.5 feet, to Bench Post 756; thence north 56°28 ' west, 104.55 feet, to Bench Post 757; thence north 51°04' west, 40.94 feet, to Bench Post 304; thence south 31°56' east, 422.40 feet to Bench Post 254; thence south 46°08' east, 370.36 feet to point of beginning. The lines from Bench Post 304 to Bench Post 254 and from Bench Post 254 to Bench Post 781 are on the present easterly boundary of the Marine Aviation Field property. "Provided, that the entrance road from the main road to the Botanical Garden shall be available to the public at all times when the Botanical Garden is open to the public; and provided further, that there shall be free ingress and egress at all times over the said road for the employees of the Botanical Garden." FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, January 21, 1941.
Executive Order 8643—Amendment of Executive Order No. 7302 of February 21, 1936, Transferring Certain Lands to the Control and Jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy
Executive Brief • At a Glance
"Provided, that the entrance road from the main road to the Botanical Garden shall be available to the public at all times when the Botanical Garden is open to the public; and provided further, that there shall be free ingress and egress at all times over the said road for the employees of the Botanical Garden."
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 January 21, 1941, this order concerns Amendment of Executive Order No. 7302 of February 21, 1936, Transferring Certain Lands to the Control and Jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the act of March 3, 1917, ch. 171, 39 Stat. 1132, and the Second Deficiency Act, Fiscal Year 1931, 46 Stat. 1552, 1570, and as President of the United States, Executive Order No. 7302 of February 21, 1936, transferring certain lands in the Virgin Islands from the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior to the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
"Provided, that the entrance road from the main road to the Botanical Garden shall be available to the public at all times when the Botanical Garden is open to the public; and provided further, that there shall be free ingress and egress at all times over the said road for the employees of the Botanical Garden."
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. 8643 (Jan. 21, 1941), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8643-amendment-executive-order-no-7302-february-21-1936-transferring.