By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the act entitled "An Act to establish a Women's Army Auxiliary Corps for service with the Army of the United States", approved May 14, 1942 (Public Law 554, 77th Congress), as amended by the act approved October 26, 1942 (Public Law 761, 77th Congress), and in order further to accomplish the purpose of said act, as amended, I do hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War to establish units of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, heretofore established by Executive Order No. 9163 of May 15, 1942, of such character and in such numbers as he may determine from time to time to be necessary to meet the requirements of the Army, subject to the limitation that the total number of women enrolled or appointed in such Corps shall not exceed one hundred fifty thousand. Executive Order No. 9163 of May 15, 1942, is hereby amended to the extent necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, November 19, 1942.
Executive Order 9274—Authorizing an Increase in the Number of Units and Members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Authorize and direct the Secretary of War to establish units of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, heretofore established by Executive Order No. 9163 of May 15, 1942, of such character and in such numbers as he may determine from time to time to be necessary to meet the requirements of the Army, subject to the limitation that the total number of women enrolled or appointed in such Corps shall not exceed one hundred fifty thousand.
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 November 19, 1942, this order concerns Authorizing an Increase in the Number of Units and Members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Authorize and direct the Secretary of War to establish units of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, heretofore established by Executive Order No. 9163 of May 15, 1942, of such character and in such numbers as he may determine from time to time to be necessary to meet the requirements of the Army, subject to the limitation that the total number of women enrolled or appointed in such Corps shall not exceed one hundred…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Authorize and direct the Secretary of War to establish units of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, heretofore established by Executive Order No. 9163 of May 15, 1942, of such character and in such numbers as he may determine from time to time to be necessary to meet the requirements of the Army, subject to the limitation that the total number of women enrolled or appointed in such Corps shall not exceed one hundred fifty thousand.
Executive Order No. 9163 of May 15, 1942, is hereby amended to the extent necessary to carry out the purposes of this order.
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
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
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. 9274 (Nov. 19, 1942), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9274-authorizing-increase-the-number-units-and-members-the-womens-army.