ARKANSAS By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is ordered that, subject to valid existing rights and to withdrawals and classifications for power purposes, the following-described public lands in Arkansas be, and they are hereby, withdrawn from all forms of appropriation tinder the public-land laws, including the mining laws, for use in connection with the construction of the Norfolk Dam and Reservoir on the North Fork of the White River, under the supervision of the War Department as authorized by the act of June 28, 1938, c. 795, 52 Stat. 1215: Fifth Principal Meridian T. 18 N., R. 11 W., sec. 6, SW¼SW¼; T. 19 N., R. 11 W., sec. 9, W½NE¼; sec. 17, SE¼NE¼, NE¼SE¼; sec. 19, SE¼NE¼, NE¼SE¼; sec. 20, SW¼NW¼, S½NE¼; T. 20 N., R. 11 W., sec. 32, SW¼4NW¼; T. 19 N., R. 12 W., sec. 3, Lot 2 of NW¼; sec. 5, NE¼SW¼; sec. 13, SW¼SE¼; T. 20 N., R. 12 W., sec. 8, Lot 1, SE¼SW¼; sec. 21, SW¼SW¼; T. 21 N., R. 12 W., sec. 20, NW¼SE¼; sec. 32, E½NE¼, including lands both east and west of the North Fork of White River; sec. 33, that part of NW¼ lying south and west of North Fork of White River; containing 805.34 acres. This order supersedes as to any of the above-described lands affected thereby the withdrawal made by Executive Order No. 6964 of February 5, 1935, as amended. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, April 16, 1942.
Executive Order 9137 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Executive Order 9137—Withdrawing Public Lands for Use of the War Department for Flood Control Purposes
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (252 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
Subject to valid existing rights and to withdrawals and classifications for power purposes, the following-described public lands in Arkansas be, and they are hereby, withdrawn from all forms of appropriation tinder the public-land laws, including the mining laws, for use in connection with the construction of the Norfolk Dam and Reservoir on the North Fork of the White River, under the supervision of the War Department as authorized by the act of June 28, 1938, c. 795, 52 Stat. 1215: Fifth Principal Meridian T. 18 N., R. 11 W., sec. 6, SW¼SW¼; T. 19 N., R. 11 W., sec. 9, W½NE¼; sec. 17, SE¼NE¼, NE¼SE¼; sec. 19, SE¼NE¼, NE¼SE¼; sec. 20, SW¼NW¼, S½NE¼; T. 20 N., R. 11 W., sec. 32, SW¼4NW¼; T. 19 N., R. 12 W., sec. 3, Lot 2 of NW¼; sec. 5…
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
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 April 16, 1942, this order concerns Withdrawing Public Lands for Use of the War Department for Flood Control Purposes. Subject to valid existing rights and to withdrawals and classifications for power purposes, the following-described public lands in Arkansas be, and they are hereby, withdrawn from all forms of appropriation tinder the public-land laws, including the mining laws, for use in connection with the construction of the Norfolk Dam and Reservoir on the North Fork of the White River, under the supervision of the War…
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
▪
Subject to valid existing rights and to withdrawals and classifications for power purposes, the following-described public lands in Arkansas be, and they are hereby, withdrawn from all forms of appropriation tinder the public-land laws, including the mining laws, for use in connection with the construction of the Norfolk Dam and Reservoir on the North Fork of the White River, under the supervision of the War Department as authorized by the act of June 28, 1938, c. 795, 52 Stat. 1215: Fifth Principal Meridian T. 18 N., R. 11 W., sec. 6, SW¼SW¼; T. 19 N., R. 11 W., sec. 9, W½NE¼; sec. 17, SE¼NE¼, NE¼SE¼; sec. 19, SE¼NE¼, NE¼SE¼; sec. 20, SW¼NW¼, S½NE¼; T. 20 N., R. 11 W., sec. 32, SW¼4NW¼; T. 19 N., R. 12 W., sec. 3, Lot 2 of NW¼; sec. 5…
▪
This order supersedes as to any of the above-described lands affected thereby the withdrawal made by Executive Order No. 6964 of February 5, 1935, as amended.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
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
30 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Low Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
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
252
1,372 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
6.2
Grade 6
Text size:
Related Executive Orders
1 order cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 6964 Feb 5, 1935
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6964-A—Approving Agreement Between Members of the Division of the Painting, Paperhanging and Decorating Division of the Construction Industry, and Painter, Paperhanger and Decorator Employees in the Region of Knox County, Indiana
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
The said Agreement is hereby approved, provided that the National Industrial Recovery Board may provide such exceptions and exemptions, with or without conditions for the granting thereof, as appear necessary to effectuate the policies and purposes of the Act, or of the Code of…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 9136 Apr 16, 1942
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 9136—Modifying Executive Orders No. 1919½ of April 21, 1914, No. 2728 of October 8, 1917, and No. 3672 of May 8, 1922, and Reserving Public Lands for the Use of the War Department
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Executive Orders No. 1919 ½ of April 21, 1914, No. 2728 of October 8, 1917, and No. 3672 of May 8, 1922, withdrawing certain lands for townsite purposes, are hereby modified to the extent necessary to permit the reservation described in Section 2 of this order. Section 2.
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 1m
EO 9135 Apr 16, 1942
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 9135—Establishing the Interdepartmental Committee for the Voluntary Pay Roll Savings Plan for the Purchase of War Savings Bonds
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
There is hereby established the Interdepartmental Committee for the Voluntary Pay Roll Savings Plan for the Purchase of War Savings Bonds (hereinafter referred to as the Committee).
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 2m
EO 9138 Apr 17, 1942
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 9138—Providing Further for the Administration of the Requisitioning of Property Required for the Prosecution of the War
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
In addition to the authority conferred upon the Chairman of the War Production Board and the heads of certain departments and agencies by Executive Order No. 8942 of November 19, 1941, and Executive Order No. 9040 of January 24, 1942, such officials shall exercise in the manner…
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 1m
EO 9134 Apr 15, 1942
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 9134—Amendment of Executive Order No. 8757 of May 20, 1941 Establishing the Office of Civilian Defense
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
There is established within the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President the Office of Civilian Defense, at the head of which shall be a Director appointed by the President.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 4m
EO 9141 Apr 18, 1942
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 9141—Possession and Operation of Plants of Brewster Aeronautical Corporation
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
I, Franklin D. Roosevelt , pursuant to the powers vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, as President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of the Navy…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 2m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 9137 (Apr. 16, 1942), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9137-withdrawing-public-lands-for-use-the-war-department-for-flood-control.
