By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and in order to facilitate the performance of the responsibilities of the Petroleum Administrator, paragraph 7 of Executive Order No. 9276 of December 2, 1942, entitled "Establishing the Petroleum Administration for War and Defining Its Functions and Duties", is hereby amended to read as follows: "7. The Administrator may appoint, with the approval of the President, a Deputy Administrator, who shall report directly to the Administrator, and to whom he may delegate any and all power, authority, and discretion conferred upon him by this Order. The Deputy Administrator shall serve as Acting Administrator in the absence of the Administrator. The Administrator and Deputy Administrator may (a) exercise the powers, authority, and discretion conferred upon them by or under the provisions of this Order through such personnel of the Petroleum Administration for War and in such manner as the Administrator or Deputy Administrator may determine, and (b) accept the services of other agencies and officials of the Government in carrying out the purposes of this Order. The Administrator, within the limits of such funds as may be allocated or appropriated for the purpose, may employ necessary personnel and make provision for necessary supplies, facilities, travel, and services." FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, March 23, 1943.
Executive Order 9319—Amending Executive Order No. 9276 Entitled "Establishing the Petroleum Administration for War and Defining its Functions and Duties"
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Paragraph 7 of Executive Order No. 9276 of December 2, 1942, entitled "Establishing the Petroleum Administration for War and Defining Its Functions and Duties", is hereby amended to read as follows: "7.
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 23, 1943, this order concerns Amending Executive Order No. 9276 Entitled "Establishing the Petroleum Administration for War and Defining its Functions and Duties". Paragraph 7 of Executive Order No. 9276 of December 2, 1942, entitled "Establishing the Petroleum Administration for War and Defining Its Functions and Duties", is hereby amended to read as follows: "7. The Administrator may appoint, with the approval of the President, a Deputy Administrator, who shall report directly to the Administrator, and to whom he may delegate any and all power, authority, and discretion…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Paragraph 7 of Executive Order No. 9276 of December 2, 1942, entitled "Establishing the Petroleum Administration for War and Defining Its Functions and Duties", is hereby amended to read as follows: "7.
The Administrator may appoint, with the approval of the President, a Deputy Administrator, who shall report directly to the Administrator, and to whom he may delegate any and all power, authority, and discretion conferred upon him by this Order.
The Deputy Administrator shall serve as Acting Administrator in the absence of the Administrator.
The Administrator, within the limits of such funds as may be allocated or appropriated for the purpose, may employ necessary personnel and make provision for necessary supplies, facilities, travel, and services."
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
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.
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. 9319 (Mar. 23, 1943), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9319-amending-executive-order-no-9276-entitled-establishing-the-petroleum.