Executive Order 8986 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 8986—Authorizing the Governor of The Panama Canal To Increase the Compensation of Certain Employees

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Friday, December 19, 1941

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1 min read (213 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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 1941-12-19, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Authorizing the Governor of The Panama Canal To Increase the Compensation of Certain Employees." 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

▪ By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 81 of title 2 of the Canal Zone Code, as amended by section 3 of the act of July 9, 1937, c.

▪ 1888 of February 2, 1914, prescribing conditions of employment governing employees on the Isthmus of Panama, as amended by the Executive order of February 20, 1920, are amended accordingly.

▪ 4721 of September 14, 1927, and the order of the Secretary of War of August 7, 1929, authorizing increases in the compensation of certain employees of The Panama Canal and the Panama Railroad Company, are revoked.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Total Words

213

1,186 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

13.9

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 8986, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Dec 19, 1941). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8986-authorizing-the-governor-the-panama-canal-increase-the-compensation.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 81 of title 2 of the Canal Zone Code, as amended by section 3 of the act of July 9, 1937, c. 470, 50 Stat, 487, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. The Governor of The Panama Canal is authorized to increase the rate of compensation to more than $960 a year or 40 cents an hour of not more than 200 employees of The Panama Canal or the Panama Railroad Company who are not citizens of the United States or the Republic of Panama; but such employees shall have no greater leave privileges than employees whose rate of compensation is not greater than $960 a year or 40 cents an hour. Section 2. Paragraphs 6 and 20' of Executive Order No. 1888 of February 2, 1914, prescribing conditions of employment governing employees on the Isthmus of Panama, as amended by the Executive order of February 20, 1920, are amended accordingly. Section 3. Executive Order No. 4721 of September 14, 1927, and the order of the Secretary of War of August 7, 1929, authorizing increases in the compensation of certain employees of The Panama Canal and the Panama Railroad Company, are revoked. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, December 19, 1941.