By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 5 of title 2 of the Canal Zone Code approved June 19, 1934, and as President of the United States, Executive Order No. 7399 of June 23, 1936, establishing in the Canal Zone a naval reservation to be known as United States Naval Radio Station, Summit, Canal Zone, is hereby amended by adding to the area described therein the following-described area of land in the Canal Zone, subject to the conditions prescribed in that order: Beginning at an 8 inch square concrete monument (marked "A" on Panama Canal Drawing No. 6110-14) located 30 feet, more or less, southwest from edge of the macadam pavement of Gaillard Highway, the geographic position of which, referred to the Canal Zone triangulation system, is in north latitude 9°04' plus 806.2 feet and in longitude west from Greenwich 79°39' plus 4828.5 feet; Thence from said initial point by metes and bounds: S. 33°45'00'' W., 1139.5 feet to an 8 inch square concrete post monument, marked "B" on the map (iron rod in concrete monuments A-1 and A-2, being in line the following successive distances from the beginning of the course: 448.8 feet and 503.9 feet); N. 46°0'00" W., 993.0 feet to an 8 inch square concrete post monument, marked "C" on the map (iron rod in concrete monuments B-1 and B-2, being in line the following successive distances from the beginning of the course: 199.7 feet and 148.5 feet) ; N. 15°30'00" E., 856.1 feet to an 8 inch square concrete post monument marked "D" (iron rod in concrete monuments C-1 and C-2, being in line the following successive distances from the beginning of the course: 376.9 feet and 223.4 feet); N. 79°30'00" E., 635.3 feet to an 8 inch concrete post monument, marked "E" on the map, located 30 feet, more or less, westerly from the edge of the macadam pavement of Gaillard Highway (iron rod in concrete monuments D-1, D-2, and D-3, being in line the following successive distances from the beginning of the course: 337.9 feet, 46.1 feet, and 146.6 feet); S. 8°44'15'' E., 274.5 feet along the westerly side of Gaillard Highway to an 8 inch square concrete post monument, marked "F" on the map (iron rod in concrete monument P-1, being in line 202.3 feet from the beginning of the course); S. 47°42'45'' E., 611.7 feet along the southwesterly side of Gaillard Highway to the point of beginning (iron rod in concrete monument, marked F-1 on the map, being in line 180.6 feet from the beginning of the course). The directions of the lines refer to the true meridian. The above-described tract contains an area of 29.21 acres, more or less, add is shown on Panama Canal Drawing No. 6110-14 on file In the office of the Governor of The Panama Canal and the Judge Advocate of the Navy. The survey was made in March, 1942, by the Section of Surveys, Office Engineering Division, The Panama Canal. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, May 21, 1942.
Executive Order 9171—Enlarging the Naval Radio Station, Summit, Canal Zone
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Executive Order No. 7399 of June 23, 1936, establishing in the Canal Zone a naval reservation to be known as United States Naval Radio Station, Summit, Canal Zone, is hereby amended by adding to the area described therein the following-described area of land in the Canal Zone, subject to the conditions prescribed in that order: Beginning at an 8 inch square concrete monument (marked "A" on Panama Canal Drawing No. 6110-14) located 30 feet, more or less, southwest from edge of the macadam pavement of Gaillard Highway, the geographic position of which, referred to the Canal Zone triangulation system, is in north latitude 9°04' plus 806.2 feet and in longitude west from Greenwich 79°39' plus 4828.5 feet; Thence from said initial point by…
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 May 21, 1942, this order concerns Enlarging the Naval Radio Station, Summit, Canal Zone. Executive Order No. 7399 of June 23, 1936, establishing in the Canal Zone a naval reservation to be known as United States Naval Radio Station, Summit, Canal Zone, is hereby amended by adding to the area described therein the following-described area of land in the Canal Zone, subject to the conditions prescribed in that order: Beginning at an 8 inch square concrete monument (marked "A" on Panama Canal Drawing No.…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Executive Order No. 7399 of June 23, 1936, establishing in the Canal Zone a naval reservation to be known as United States Naval Radio Station, Summit, Canal Zone, is hereby amended by adding to the area described therein the following-described area of land in the Canal Zone, subject to the conditions prescribed in that order: Beginning at an 8 inch square concrete monument (marked "A" on Panama Canal Drawing No. 6110-14) located 30 feet, more or less, southwest from edge of the macadam pavement of Gaillard Highway, the geographic position of which, referred to the Canal Zone triangulation system, is in north latitude 9°04' plus 806.2 feet and in longitude west from Greenwich 79°39' plus 4828.5 feet; Thence from said initial point by…
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
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
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
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
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.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 9171 (May 21, 1942), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9171-enlarging-the-naval-radio-station-summit-canal-zone.