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Executive Order 9674 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.33)

Executive Order 9674—Liquidation of War Agencies

Harry S Truman Harry S Truman
•
Friday, January 4, 1946
•
3 min read (522 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

This executive order, signed by President Harry S Truman on 1946-01-04, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Liquidation of War Agencies." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

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

▪ There shall be in the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President a Director of Liquidation, hereinafter referred to as the Director, who shall be appointed by the President and who shall perform his functions in consultation with a Liquidation Advisory Committee.
▪ The Liquidation Advisory Committee shall be composed of one representative of each of the following agencies: the Department of the Treasury, the Surplus Property Administration, the national Archives, the Civil Service Commission, the Public Buildings Administration, the General Accounting Office, and the Bureau of the Budget.
▪ The chairman of the Committee shall be designated by the Director from the Committee's membership.
▪ It shall be the duty of the Director to further proper preparations, arrangements, and methods for the orderly and timely winding up of the affairs of the temporary Federal agencies created for the purposes of the war, hereinafter referred to as war agencies, particularly with respect to personnel, property, accounts, space, and records.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
Total Words
522
3,188 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.5
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.33
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 9674, Harry S Truman (Jan 4, 1946). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9674-liquidation-war-agencies.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statues, including Title I of the First War Powers Act, 1941 (55 Stat. 838), and as President of the United Stations, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1. There shall be in the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President a Director of Liquidation, hereinafter referred to as the Director, who shall be appointed by the President and who shall perform his functions in consultation with a Liquidation Advisory Committee. The Liquidation Advisory Committee shall be composed of one representative of each of the following agencies: the Department of the Treasury, the Surplus Property Administration, the national Archives, the Civil Service Commission, the Public Buildings Administration, the General Accounting Office, and the Bureau of the Budget. The chairman of the Committee shall be designated by the Director from the Committee's membership. 2. It shall be the duty of the Director to further proper preparations, arrangements, and methods for the orderly and timely winding up of the affairs of the temporary Federal agencies created for the purposes of the war, hereinafter referred to as war agencies, particularly with respect to personnel, property, accounts, space, and records. To this end the Director shall: (a) Cause to be developed by each war agency, for use whenever it shall, pursuant to act of Congress or order of the President, as the case may be, cease the performance of its substantive functions or materially reduce the volume of its activities, suitable plans for the winding up or retrenchment of its affairs. (b) When deemed appropriate arrange for the designation, by the head of any war agency, of a liquidation officer for the agency. (c) Receive periodic reports which shall be submitted by each war agency, showing the status of preparation for liquidation, or of liquidation, as the case may be. (d) Establish such uniform liquidation practices as will accelerate the rate or improve the quality of the liquidation. (e) Suggest to the Civil Service Commission and the Liaison Officer for Personnel Management measures designed to ameliorate the impact of liquidation upon the employees of the war agencies liquidated. (f) Advise and assist the war agencies in such other respects as will facilitate the preparation for and the carrying out of the liquidation of their affairs. 3. Nothing in this order shall be deemed to divest any agency referred to in paragraph 1 of this order of any of its functions which may be concerned with the liquidation of a war agency. The functions of the Director shall not be deemed to extend to the affairs of any agency which has heretofore been, or shall hereafter be, abolished and the affairs of which are transferred to the Department of the Treasury, or to any other department, for the final winding up of such affairs. 4. The Director may, within the limits of funds which may be made available, employ personnel and make provisions for supplies, facilities, and services, and incur other expenses, necessary to discharge the functions of the Director under this order. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, January 4, 1946