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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 9019 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 9019—Revoking in Part and Modifying Executive Order No. 8578 of October 29, 1940, and Reserving Public Land for Use of the War Department as an Aerial Machine-Gun Range

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Monday, January 12, 1942
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4 min read (887 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (887 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Executive Order No. 8578 of October 29, 1940, reserving public land in the State of Nevada for the use of the War Department as an aerial bombing and gunnery range, is hereby revoked as to any land not included in the following-described area: Mount Diablo Meridian Beginning at the northwest corner of T. 1 S., R. 46 W.; Thence east along the Mount Diablo Base Line approximately 38 miles to the southeast corner of T. 1 N., R. 51½ E.; Thence north approximately 1 mile to the southwest corner of T. 1 N., R. 52 E.; Thence east along the Mount Diablo Base Line approximately 15 miles to the northeast corner of sec. 4, T. 1 S., R. 54 E.; Thence southerly along section lines approximately 24 miles to the southeast corner of sec. 33, T. 4 S., R.…

⚖️ 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 Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

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 12, 1942, this order concerns Revoking in Part and Modifying Executive Order No. 8578 of October 29, 1940, and Reserving Public Land for Use of the War Department as an Aerial Machine-Gun Range. Executive Order No. 8578 of October 29, 1940, reserving public land in the State of Nevada for the use of the War Department as an aerial bombing and gunnery range, is hereby revoked as to any land not included in the following-described area: Mount Diablo Meridian Beginning at the northwest corner of T. 1 S., R. 46 W.; Thence east along the Mount Diablo Base Line approximately 38 miles to the southeast corner of…

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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Executive Order No. 8578 of October 29, 1940, reserving public land in the State of Nevada for the use of the War Department as an aerial bombing and gunnery range, is hereby revoked as to any land not included in the following-described area: Mount Diablo Meridian Beginning at the northwest corner of T. 1 S., R. 46 W.; Thence east along the Mount Diablo Base Line approximately 38 miles to the southeast corner of T. 1 N., R. 51½ E.; Thence north approximately 1 mile to the southwest corner of T. 1 N., R. 52 E.; Thence east along the Mount Diablo Base Line approximately 15 miles to the northeast corner of sec. 4, T. 1 S., R. 54 E.; Thence southerly along section lines approximately 24 miles to the southeast corner of sec. 33, T. 4 S., R.…

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The said Executive Order No. 8578 is hereby modified to the extent that the public land in the above-described area lying north of the 1st Standard Parallel South is reserved for the use of the War Department as a general bombing range, and the public land in the above-described area lying south of the 1st Standard Parallel South is reserved for the use of the War Department as an aerial machine-gun range: Provided, however, that the Secretary of the Interior shall have authority to relocate the boundary between the foregoing ranges in accordance with such mutual understanding as may be reached by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of War. 3.

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Subject to valid existing rights, the public land in the following-described area is hereby withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public-land laws, including the mining laws, and reserved for the use of the War Department as an aerial machine-gun range: Mount Diablo Meridian Beginning at the point for corner of Tps. 7 and 8 S., Rs. 56 and 57 E.; Thence southerly approximately 42 miles to the southeast corner of T. 14 S., R. 56 E.; Thence east to the point for the corner of Tps. 14 and 15 S., Rs. 59 and 60 E.; Thence northerly approximately 42 miles to the point for Tps. 7 and 8 S., Rs. 59 and 60 E.; Thence west approximately 18 miles to the point for corner of Tps. 7 and 8 S., Rs. 56 and 57 E., and the place of beginning…

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This order, so far as it affects land in the area last described above, shall take precedence over, but shall not rescind or revoke, (1) Executive Order No. 7373 of May 20, 1936, reserving certain lands for wildlife and other purposes, (2) the Executive order of February 23, 1916, withdrawing land as Public Water Reserve No. 33, Nevada No. 2, (3) the order of the Secretary of the Interior of November 3, 1936, establishing Grazing District No. 5, Nevada, and (4) the order of the Secretary of the Interior of December 2, 1937, withdrawing certain public lands for a proposed grazing district, so far as such orders affect any of the land in the area last described above. 5.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Policy Areas & Topics

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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
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"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
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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
48 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

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

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Moderate Friction

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%).
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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
887
4,919 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
9.8
High School
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

NEVADA By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1 of the act of July 9, 1918, c. 143, 40 Stat. 845, 848 (U.S.C., title 10, sec. 1341), it is ordered as follows: 1. Executive Order No. 8578 of October 29, 1940, reserving public land in the State of Nevada for the use of the War Department as an aerial bombing and gunnery range, is hereby revoked as to any land not included in the following-described area: Mount Diablo Meridian Beginning at the northwest corner of T. 1 S., R. 46 W.; Thence east along the Mount Diablo Base Line approximately 38 miles to the southeast corner of T. 1 N., R. 51½ E.; Thence north approximately 1 mile to the southwest corner of T. 1 N., R. 52 E.; Thence east along the Mount Diablo Base Line approximately 15 miles to the northeast corner of sec. 4, T. 1 S., R. 54 E.; Thence southerly along section lines approximately 24 miles to the southeast corner of sec. 33, T. 4 S., R. 54 E.; Thence east along the 1st Standard Parallel South approximately 5 miles; Thence southerly approximately 18 miles: Thence east approximately 10 miles to the point for corner of Tps. 7 and 8 S., Rs. 56 and 57 E.; Thence southerly approximately 42 miles to the southeast corner of T. 14 S., R. 56 E.; Thence westerly to the southwest corner of T. 14 S., R. 50 E.; Thence north to the northwest corner of T. 13 S., R. 50 E.; Thence west along the 3rd Standard Parallel South to the southwest corner of T. 12 S., R. 49 E.; Thence northerly approximately 48 miles to the point for the northwest corner of T. 5 S., R. 49 E.; Thence west on the 1st Standard Parallel South approximately 18 miles to the southwest corner of T. 4 S., R. 46 E.; Thence north along the line between ranges 45 and 46 east approximately 24 miles to the northwest corner of T. 1 S., R. 46 E., and the place of beginning; containing approximately 2,617,300 acres. 2. The said Executive Order No. 8578 is hereby modified to the extent that the public land in the above-described area lying north of the 1st Standard Parallel South is reserved for the use of the War Department as a general bombing range, and the public land in the above-described area lying south of the 1st Standard Parallel South is reserved for the use of the War Department as an aerial machine-gun range: Provided, however, that the Secretary of the Interior shall have authority to relocate the boundary between the foregoing ranges in accordance with such mutual understanding as may be reached by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of War. 3. Subject to valid existing rights, the public land in the following-described area is hereby withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public-land laws, including the mining laws, and reserved for the use of the War Department as an aerial machine-gun range: Mount Diablo Meridian Beginning at the point for corner of Tps. 7 and 8 S., Rs. 56 and 57 E.; Thence southerly approximately 42 miles to the southeast corner of T. 14 S., R. 56 E.; Thence east to the point for the corner of Tps. 14 and 15 S., Rs. 59 and 60 E.; Thence northerly approximately 42 miles to the point for Tps. 7 and 8 S., Rs. 59 and 60 E.; Thence west approximately 18 miles to the point for corner of Tps. 7 and 8 S., Rs. 56 and 57 E., and the place of beginning; containing approximately 483,840 acres. 4. This order, so far as it affects land in the area last described above, shall take precedence over, but shall not rescind or revoke, (1) Executive Order No. 7373 of May 20, 1936, reserving certain lands for wildlife and other purposes, (2) the Executive order of February 23, 1916, withdrawing land as Public Water Reserve No. 33, Nevada No. 2, (3) the order of the Secretary of the Interior of November 3, 1936, establishing Grazing District No. 5, Nevada, and (4) the order of the Secretary of the Interior of December 2, 1937, withdrawing certain public lands for a proposed grazing district, so far as such orders affect any of the land in the area last described above. 5. In connection with the use by the War Department of any of the land described herein reserved by Executive Order No. 7373 of May 20, 1936, the local army commandant shall, after consultation with the local representatives of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Grazing Service, Department of the Interior, and to enable the field personnel of such services to carry out their normal patrol and maintenance activities, designate not less than two days a month, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, on which there shall be no firing; and the representatives of said services shall have the right to use the Alamo road in Sheep Valley when on official business. 6. It is intended that the land described herein shall be returned to the administration of the Department of the Interior when it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it is reserved. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, January 12, 1942.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 9019 (Jan. 12, 1942), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9019-revoking-part-and-modifying-executive-order-no-8578-october-29-1940.