By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Civil Service Act (22 Stat. 403), and by section 1753 of the Revised Statutes (U.S.C., title 5, sec. 631), the Civil Service Rules are hereby amended as follows: Section 1 of Rule I is amended to read: 1. No interference with elections. —No person in the executive civil service shall use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the results thereof. Persons who by the provisions of these rules are in the competitive classified service, while retaining the right to vote as they please and to express their opinions on all political subjects, shall take no active part in political management or in political campaigns. Section 5 of Rule XII is amended to read: 5. Retention of soldiers and sailors. — In harmony with statutory provisions, when reductions are being made in the force, in any part of the classified service, no employee entitled to military preference in appointment shall be discharged, dropped, or reduced in rank or salary before any employee not entitled to military preference in competition with him if his record is.good; nor shall any classified employee entitled to military preference in appointment be discharged, dropped, or reduced in rank or salary before any employee not entitled to military preference in competition with him if his efficiency rating is less than good but better than, or equal to, that of any such non-preference employee. Civil Service Rule XV is amended to read: Legal appointment necessary to compensation. —Whenever the Commission finds, after due notice and opportunity for explanation, that any person has been appointed to or is holding any position, whether by original appointment, promotion, assignment, transfer, or reinstatement, in violation of the Civil Service Act or Rules, or of any Executive order or any regulation of the Commission, or that any employee subject thereto has violated such Act, Rules, orders, or regulations, it shall certify the facts to the proper appointing officer with specific instructions as to discipline or dismissal of the person or employee affected. If the appointing officer fails to carry out the instructions of the Commission within 10 days after receipt thereof, the Commission shall certify the facts to the proper disbursing and auditing officers, and such officers shall make no payment or allowance of the salary or wages of any such person or employee thereafter accruing. This order shall be effective as of November 7, 1940. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, March 5, 1941.
Executive Order 8705 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Executive Order 8705—Amending Certain Provisions of the Civil Service Rules
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (424 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The Civil Service Rules are hereby amended as follows: Section 1 of Rule I is amended to read: 1.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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 March 5, 1941, this order concerns Amending Certain Provisions of the Civil Service Rules. The Civil Service Rules are hereby amended as follows: Section 1 of Rule I is amended to read: 1. No interference with elections. —No person in the executive civil service shall use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the results thereof.
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
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The Civil Service Rules are hereby amended as follows: Section 1 of Rule I is amended to read: 1.
▪
No interference with elections. —No person in the executive civil service shall use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the results thereof.
▪
Persons who by the provisions of these rules are in the competitive classified service, while retaining the right to vote as they please and to express their opinions on all political subjects, shall take no active part in political management or in political campaigns.
▪
Retention of soldiers and sailors. — In harmony with statutory provisions, when reductions are being made in the force, in any part of the classified service, no employee entitled to military preference in appointment shall be discharged, dropped, or reduced in rank or salary before any employee not entitled to military preference in competition with him if his record is.good; nor shall any classified employee entitled to military preference in appointment be discharged, dropped, or reduced in rank or salary before any employee not entitled to military preference in competition with him if his efficiency rating is less than good but better than, or equal to, that of any such non-preference employee.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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.
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"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."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM
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.
Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
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: Strong Prerogative Support
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
📐
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
43 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Moderate Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
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
Moderate Friction
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.
Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️
Audit Synthesis
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
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
424
2,608 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
15.4
College Level
Text size:
Related Executive Orders
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EO 8706 Mar 6, 1941
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8706—Amending Paragraph 12 of Executive Order No. 5865 of June 27, 1932, Prescribing Regulations Relating to Aerial Flights by Personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Guard
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Paragraph 12 of Executive Order No. 5865 of June 27, 1932, prescribing regulations relating to aerial flights by personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Guard, be, and it is hereby, amended to read as follows: "12.
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⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
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📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the granting of allowances for quarters and subsistence for enlisted men of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Coast and Geodetic Survey, and Public Health Service who are not furnished quarters or rations in kind…
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🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8703—Prescribing Regulations Governing the Exportation of Articles and Materials Designated in the President's Proclamation of March 4, 1941, Issued Pursuant to Section 6 of the Act of Congress Approved July 2, 1940, and Amending Regulations of January 15, 1941, Covering the Exportation of Certain Articles and Materials
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
I hereby prescribe the following additional regulations governing the exportation of the articles and materials named in my proclamation of March 4, 1941: 1.
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EO 8702 Mar 4, 1941
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8702—Prescribing Regulations Governing the Exportation of Articles and Materials Designated in the President's Proclamation of March 4, 1941, Issued Pursuant to Section 6 of the Act of Congress Approved July 2, 1940, and Amending Regulations of January 15, 1941, Covering the Exportation of Certain Articles and Materials
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
I hereby prescribe the following additional regulations governing the exportation of the articles and materials named in my proclamation of March 4, 1941: 1.
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EO 8701 Mar 4, 1941
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8701—Amendment of Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as Amended
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America , do hereby amend Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as amended, so as to extend all the provisions thereof to, and with respect to, property in which Bulgaria or any national thereof has at any time…
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EO 8700 Mar 3, 1941
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8700—Revocation of Executive Order No. 6667 of April 5, 1934, Withdrawing Public Lands
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
COLORADO By virtue of the authority vested in me by the act of June 25, 1910, c. 421, 36 Stat. 847, Executive Order No. 6667 of April 5, 1934, withdrawing public lands in Colorado pending a resurvey, is hereby revoked.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Grade 7 • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 8705 (Mar. 5, 1941), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8705-amending-certain-provisions-the-civil-service-rules.
