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Executive Order 9577 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.29) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 9577—Terminating the War Food Administration and Transferring Its Functions to the Secretary of Agriculture

Harry S Truman Harry S Truman
•
Friday, June 29, 1945
•
2 min read (375 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (375 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The War Food Administration and the office of War Food Administrator, established by Executive Order No. 9334 of April 19, 1943, are hereby terminated. 2.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Harry S Truman on June 29, 1945, this order concerns Terminating the War Food Administration and Transferring Its Functions to the Secretary of Agriculture. The War Food Administration and the office of War Food Administrator, established by Executive Order No. 9334 of April 19, 1943, are hereby terminated. 2. The functions, duties, and powers of the War Food Administrator, including but not limited to those vested in the Administrator by Executive Orders No. 9334 of April 19, 1943, as amended, No. 9385 of October 6, 1943, No. 9401 of December 7, 1943, No. 9418 of…

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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The War Food Administration and the office of War Food Administrator, established by Executive Order No. 9334 of April 19, 1943, are hereby terminated. 2.

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The functions, duties, and powers of the War Food Administrator, including but not limited to those vested in the Administrator by Executive Orders No. 9334 of April 19, 1943, as amended, No. 9385 of October 6, 1943, No. 9401 of December 7, 1943, No. 9418 of January 29, 1944, and No. 9534 of April 3, 1945, are hereby transferred to, and shall be exercised and performed by, the Secretary of Agriculture. 3.

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The records, property, personnel, funds, and agencies of the War Food Administration are hereby placed under the jurisdiction and control of the Secretary of Agriculture.

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The agencies of the War Food Administration shall, consistent with applicable law, be organized as administered in such manner as the Secretary of Agriculture may deem desirable. 4.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Agriculture
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

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.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
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
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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
40 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

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

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ 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%).
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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
375
2,200 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
12.3
High School
Language Tone Score
+0.29
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, including Title I of the First War Powers Act, 1941 (55 Stat. 838), it is ordered as follows: 1. The War Food Administration and the office of War Food Administrator, established by Executive Order No. 9334 of April 19, 1943, are hereby terminated. 2. The functions, duties, and powers of the War Food Administrator, including but not limited to those vested in the Administrator by Executive Orders No. 9334 of April 19, 1943, as amended, No. 9385 of October 6, 1943, No. 9401 of December 7, 1943, No. 9418 of January 29, 1944, and No. 9534 of April 3, 1945, are hereby transferred to, and shall be exercised and performed by, the Secretary of Agriculture. 3. The records, property, personnel, funds, and agencies of the War Food Administration are hereby placed under the jurisdiction and control of the Secretary of Agriculture. The agencies of the War Food Administration shall, consistent with applicable law, be organized as administered in such manner as the Secretary of Agriculture may deem desirable. 4. The Secretary of Agriculture shall have, and may exercise to such extent and subject to such conditions as he shall determine, (a) all powers of delegation vested in the War Food Administrator, including but not limited to those specified in paragraph 9 of Executive Order No. 9280 of December 5, 1942, and (b) the authority to confer upon any person or persons to whom he may make delegations hereunder, the power to make further delegations to any person or persons in the Department of Agriculture. 5. All orders, directives, rules, and regulations relating to any matter within the scope of the authority of the War Food Administrator which are in effect of the effective date of this order shall continue in full force and effect unless and until modified or revoked by the Secretary of Agriculture or at his direction or under his authorization. 6. All prior Executive orders in conflict with this order are hereby amended to the extent of such conflict. 7. This order shall take effect at the close of business on June 30, 1945. HARRY S. TRUMAN

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

June 29, 1945

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 9577 (June 29, 1945), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9577-terminating-the-war-food-administration-and-transferring-its.