By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, by the Trading with the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, as amended, by the First War Powers Act, 1941, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1. There is hereby established in the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President the Office of Alien Property Custodian, at the head of which shall be an Alien Property Custodian appointed by the President. The Alien Property Custodian shall receive compensation at such rate as the President shall approve and in addition shall be entitled to actual and necessary transportation, subsistence, and other expenses incidental to the performance of his duties. Within the limitation of such funds as may be made available for that purpose, the Alien Property Custodian may appoint assistants and other personnel and delegate to them such functions as he may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this Order. 2. All power and authority conferred on the President by Sections 3(a) and 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, as amended, and by Sections 301 and 302 of Title III of the First War Powers Act, 1941, approved December 18, 1941, except such powers and authority as were delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury by Executive Orders issued prior to February 12, 1942, and to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System by Executive Order No. 8843 of August 9, 1941 (which powers and authority shall continue to be vested in and exercised by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Governors respectively), are hereby delegated to and vested in the Alien Property Custodian. The memorandum of February 12, 1942, delegating to the Secretary of the Treasury certain powers and authority under said sections, is hereby revoked and canceled. Any and all action heretofore taken by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System after February 11,1942, in pursuance of Executive Order No. 8843 of August 9, 1941, is hereby confirmed and ratified. In the exercise of the authority herein delegated, the Alien Property Custodian shall be subject to the provisions of Executive Order No. 8839 of July 30, 1941, and shall designate a representative to the Board of Economic Warfare in accordance with Section 6 thereof. 3. Any property, or interest therein, of any foreign country or a national thereof shall vest in the Alien Property Custodian whenever the Alien Property Custodian shall so direct; and, in the case of any property, or interest therein, subject to the control of the Secretary of the Treasury, when the Alien Property Custodian shall notify the Secretary of the Treasury in writing that he has so directed, the Secretary of the Treasury shall release all control of any such property, or interest therein, to the Alien Property Custodian. 4. Any outstanding order, proclamation, regulation, ruling, license, or instruction issued pursuant to, or relating to the administration of, any power or authority vested in the Alien Property Custodian by this Order shall remain in effect unless and until amended or revoked by the Alien Property Custodian. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, March 11, 1942.
Executive Order 9095—Establishing the Office of Alien Property Custodian and Defining Its Functions and Duties
Executive Brief • At a Glance
There is hereby established in the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President the Office of Alien Property Custodian, at the head of which shall be an Alien Property Custodian appointed by the President.
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 11, 1942, this order concerns Establishing the Office of Alien Property Custodian and Defining Its Functions and Duties. There is hereby established in the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President the Office of Alien Property Custodian, at the head of which shall be an Alien Property Custodian appointed by the President.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
There is hereby established in the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President the Office of Alien Property Custodian, at the head of which shall be an Alien Property Custodian appointed by the President.
The Alien Property Custodian shall receive compensation at such rate as the President shall approve and in addition shall be entitled to actual and necessary transportation, subsistence, and other expenses incidental to the performance of his duties.
Within the limitation of such funds as may be made available for that purpose, the Alien Property Custodian may appoint assistants and other personnel and delegate to them such functions as he may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this Order. 2.
All power and authority conferred on the President by Sections 3(a) and 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, as amended, and by Sections 301 and 302 of Title III of the First War Powers Act, 1941, approved December 18, 1941, except such powers and authority as were delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury by Executive Orders issued prior to February 12, 1942, and to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System by Executive Order No. 8843 of August 9, 1941 (which powers and authority shall continue to be vested in and exercised by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Governors respectively), are hereby delegated to and vested in the Alien Property Custodian.
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
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
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.
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (6)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 9095 (Mar. 11, 1942), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9095-establishing-the-office-alien-property-custodian-and-defining-its.