Whereas the defense of the Territory of Hawaii and the successful prosecution of the war require every possible protection against espionage and sabotage, the maintenance of internal security, and the efficient utilization of available facilities in that territory: Now, Therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, the laws of the United States, including the act of March 21, 1942, c. 191, 56 Stat. 173 (18 U.S.C. 97a), and Title III of the Second War Powers Act, 1942, and as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy and as President of the United States, I order as follows: 1. I nereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War to designate the Commanding General, United States Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas, as the military commander within the meaning of the act of March 21, 1942. The military commander may prescribe the Territory of Hawaii or any part thereof as a military area, from which any and all persons may be excluded and with respect to which the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions or orders the said military commander may impose as hereinafter authorized. 2. In the military area prescribed under the authority of this order, the military commander may, whenever military necessity therefor exists and the military commander so finds: a. Establish blackout and curfew periods and restrict and regulate the actions of all persons during such period. b. Establish air raid precautions. c. Regulate the conduct of enemy aliens. d. Evacuate or exclude, and detain incident thereto, any or all persons from the military area or from any part thereof, whenever the evacuation or exclusion, or the detention incident thereto, is necessary to prevent espionage or sabotage, and the military commander so finds. e. Regulate or prohibit possession or use of firearms or other weapons. f. Define, for the purposes of this order, what shall constitute military service with the armed forces of nations other than the United States and require all persons who have had such military service with the armed forces of nations other than the United States to register such military service. g. Issue regulations to assure adequate protection of the following: ports and harbors, dockage and stevedoring, barges, tugs and floating equipment, transportation of ship cargoes and passengers, and disposition of all cargoes until removed from dock areas at docks and wharves. h. Regulate, restrict, or prohibit travel within, into, or from the military area whenever such regulation, restriction, or prohibition is necessary for military security and the military commander so finds. i. Whenever necessary to prevent espionage or sabotage, and the military commander so finds, regulate the publication of any newspapers and periodicals that are published in a foreign language or in dual languages, regulate, restrict, or prohibit the possession or use of radio transmission sets or the transmission of information (by any means other than newspapers) between the military area and points outside of the said area, and between the islands within the said military area. 3. Whenever the military commander finds it to be in the interests of national defense and the successful prosecution of the war, he may, to the extent that he deems it necessary to carry Out the purposes of this order, perform the functions and exercise power and authority conferred on the President by Title III of the Second War Powers Act, 1942 (50 U.S.C., app. 633) insofar as they relate to priorities and allocation of the following in the Territory of Hawaii: Ports and harbors, dockage and stevedoring, barges, tugs, floating equipment and all travel facilities; and fixing of overall quotas to vessels of all commercial cargo. 4. Nothing in this order shall be construed to modify or revoke any of the provisions of Executive Order No. 9066, dated February 19, 1942. Any designation of the military commander and of the Territory of Hawaii or any part thereof as a military area under paragraph 1 hereof shall constitute designation of such military commander as the military commander, and of such Territory or such part thereof as a military area for the purposes of the said Executive Order No. 9066, and shall vest the military commander with the powers provided in that order. 5. Unless sooner terminated, the authority herein conferred shall expire thirty days after the cessation of hostilities between the empire of Japan and the United States. 6. All prior executive orders, insofar as they are in conflict herewith, are amended accordingly. 7. This order shall become effective on October 24, 1944. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, October 18, 1944.
Executive Order 9489—Authorizing and Directing the Secretary of War to Designate a Military Commander for the Territory of Hawaii and Authorizing the Military Commander to Prescribe Said Territory, or Any Part Thereof, as a Military Area, and for Other Purposes
Executive Brief • At a Glance
I nereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War to designate the Commanding General, United States Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas, as the military commander within the meaning of the act of March 21, 1942.
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 October 18, 1944, this order concerns Authorizing and Directing the Secretary of War to Designate a Military Commander for the Territory of Hawaii and Authorizing the Military Commander to Prescribe Said Territory, or Any Part Thereof, as a Military Area, and for Other Purposes. The laws of the United States, including the act of March 21, 1942, c. 191, 56 Stat. 173 (18 U.S.C. 97a), and Title III of the Second War Powers Act, 1942, and as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy and as President of the United States, I order as follows: 1.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
I nereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War to designate the Commanding General, United States Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas, as the military commander within the meaning of the act of March 21, 1942.
The military commander may prescribe the Territory of Hawaii or any part thereof as a military area, from which any and all persons may be excluded and with respect to which the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions or orders the said military commander may impose as hereinafter authorized. 2.
In the military area prescribed under the authority of this order, the military commander may, whenever military necessity therefor exists and the military commander so finds: a.
Establish blackout and curfew periods and restrict and regulate the actions of all persons during such period. b.
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
Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Scrutinized under the Bill of Rights for potential impact on private contracts, property rights, or procedural due process.
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. 9489 (Oct. 18, 1944), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9489-authorizing-and-directing-the-secretary-war-designate-military.