By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1 of the act of August 1, 1892, 27 Stat. 340, as amended by the act of March 3, 1913, 37 Stat. 726 (U.S.C., title 40, sec. 321), and as President of the United States, I hereby extend the provisions of Executive Order 9360 of July 7, 1943, entitled "Suspension of Eight-Hour Law as to Laborers and Mechanics Employed by the Department of the Interior on Public Works Within the United States", to all work performed by laborers and mechanics employed by the Department of the Interior on any public work within the Territory of Alaska which is designated by the Secretary of the Interior as essential to the prosecution of the war, subject to the conditions and limitations contained in the said Executive order. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, August 9, 1943.
Executive Order 9368—Suspension of the Eight-Hour Law as to Laborers and Mechanics Employed by the Department of the Interior on Public Works Within the Territory of Alaska
Executive Brief • At a Glance
I hereby extend the provisions of Executive Order 9360 of July 7, 1943, entitled "Suspension of Eight-Hour Law as to Laborers and Mechanics Employed by the Department of the Interior on Public Works Within the United States", to all work performed by laborers and mechanics employed by the Department of the Interior on any public work within the Territory of Alaska which is designated by the Secretary of the Interior as essential to the prosecution of the war, subject to the conditions and limitations contained in the said Executive order.
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 August 9, 1943, this order concerns Suspension of the Eight-Hour Law as to Laborers and Mechanics Employed by the Department of the Interior on Public Works Within the Territory of Alaska. I hereby extend the provisions of Executive Order 9360 of July 7, 1943, entitled "Suspension of Eight-Hour Law as to Laborers and Mechanics Employed by the Department of the Interior on Public Works Within the United States", to all work performed by laborers and mechanics employed by the Department of the Interior on any public work within the Territory of Alaska which is designated by the Secretary of the…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
I hereby extend the provisions of Executive Order 9360 of July 7, 1943, entitled "Suspension of Eight-Hour Law as to Laborers and Mechanics Employed by the Department of the Interior on Public Works Within the United States", to all work performed by laborers and mechanics employed by the Department of the Interior on any public work within the Territory of Alaska which is designated by the Secretary of the Interior as essential to the prosecution of the war, subject to the conditions and limitations contained in the said Executive 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.
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 9368 (Aug. 9, 1943), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9368-suspension-the-eight-hour-law-laborers-and-mechanics-employed-the.