Whereas a certain tract of land located within Kapiolani Park, in the District of Waikiki, Honolulu, Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, and more particularly described below, was transferred to the United States for a United Service Organization Club Building Reservation by Executive Order No. 972, dated January 21, 1942, of the Governor of Hawaii; and Whereas the contemplated clubhouse has not been built on this tract of land, which remains unused, and no plans exist for the building of such a clubhouse by the United Service Organization; and Whereas the Territory of Hawaii has expressed a desire to have the tract of land returned to its jurisdiction: Now, Therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 91 of the act of April 30, 1900, 31 Stat. 159, as amended by section 7 of the act of May 27, 1910, 36 Stat. 447, and as President of the United States, it is ordered that the following-described land in Kapiolani Park, District of Waikiki, Honolulu, Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, be, and it is hereby, returned to the jurisdiction of the Territory of Hawaii: Beginning at a 3/4" pipe at the northwest corner of this parcel of land and on the south side of Monsarrat Road, the true azimuth and distance from said pipe to the City and County Survey Street Monument set in the makai sidewalk of Kalakaua Avenue near the junction of Monsarrat Road with Kalakaua Avenue being 121°23'30" 795.34 feet, and the coordinates of said Street Monument referred to Government Survey Triangulation Station "PUNCHBOWL" being 15120.70 feet South and 9090.67 feet East, as shown on Government Survey Registered Map 1079 and thence running from the above-described initial point by azimuths measured clockwise from True South: 1. 275°30' 350.00 feet along the south side of Monsarrat Road to a 3/4" pipe; 2. 5°30' 500.00 feet along portion of Kapiolani Park; 3. 95°30' 350.00 feet along same to a 3/4" pipe; 4. 185°30' 500.00 feet along same to the point of beginning. The tract as described contains an area of 175,000 square feet. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, January 31, 1945.
Executive Order 9517 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order 9517—Returning Certain Land to the Jurisdiction of the Territory of Hawaii
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (357 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The following-described land in Kapiolani Park, District of Waikiki, Honolulu, Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, be, and it is hereby, returned to the jurisdiction of the Territory of Hawaii: Beginning at a 3/4" pipe at the northwest corner of this parcel of land and on the south side of Monsarrat Road, the true azimuth and distance from said pipe to the City and County Survey Street Monument set in the makai sidewalk of Kalakaua Avenue near the junction of Monsarrat Road with Kalakaua Avenue being 121°23'30" 795.34 feet, and the coordinates of said Street Monument referred to Government Survey Triangulation Station "PUNCHBOWL" being 15120.70 feet South and 9090.67 feet East, as shown on Government Survey Registered Map 1079 and thence…
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities
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 January 31, 1945, this order concerns Returning Certain Land to the Jurisdiction of the Territory of Hawaii. The following-described land in Kapiolani Park, District of Waikiki, Honolulu, Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, be, and it is hereby, returned to the jurisdiction of the Territory of Hawaii: Beginning at a 3/4" pipe at the northwest corner of this parcel of land and on the south side of Monsarrat Road, the true azimuth and distance from said pipe to the City and County Survey Street Monument set in the makai…
Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪
The following-described land in Kapiolani Park, District of Waikiki, Honolulu, Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, be, and it is hereby, returned to the jurisdiction of the Territory of Hawaii: Beginning at a 3/4" pipe at the northwest corner of this parcel of land and on the south side of Monsarrat Road, the true azimuth and distance from said pipe to the City and County Survey Street Monument set in the makai sidewalk of Kalakaua Avenue near the junction of Monsarrat Road with Kalakaua Avenue being 121°23'30" 795.34 feet, and the coordinates of said Street Monument referred to Government Survey Triangulation Station "PUNCHBOWL" being 15120.70 feet South and 9090.67 feet East, as shown on Government Survey Registered Map 1079 and thence…
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
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.
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"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."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM
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.
Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)
Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.
Hamiltonian Stance: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
GM
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.
Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
📐
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
30 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Low Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers
Moderate Friction
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.
Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️
Audit Synthesis
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
357
2,107 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
13.5
College Level
Text size:
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📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
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⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
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📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
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📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
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📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 9517 (Jan. 31, 1945), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9517-returning-certain-land-the-jurisdiction-the-territory-hawaii.
