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Executive Order 9767 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 9767—Amending the Foreign Service Regulations of the United States

Harry S Truman Harry S Truman
•
Friday, August 9, 1946
•
2 min read (305 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (305 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The Tariff of the United States Foreign Service Fees, prescribed by section V-15 (22 CRF Cum.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Foreign Nations & International Entities
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 August 9, 1946, this order concerns Amending the Foreign Service Regulations of the United States. The Tariff of the United States Foreign Service Fees, prescribed by section V-15 (22 CRF Cum. Supp. 105.15) of the Foreign Service Regulations of the Untied States (Executive Order No. 7968 of September 3, 1938, as amended by Executive Orders No. 8297 of December 4, 1939, No. 9303 of February 11, 1943, No. 9407 of December 17, 1943, No. 9507 of December 20, 1944, and No. 9591 of July 21, 1945) is amended as…

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 Tariff of the United States Foreign Service Fees, prescribed by section V-15 (22 CRF Cum.

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Supp. 105.15) of the Foreign Service Regulations of the Untied States (Executive Order No. 7968 of September 3, 1938, as amended by Executive Orders No. 8297 of December 4, 1939, No. 9303 of February 11, 1943, No. 9407 of December 17, 1943, No. 9507 of December 20, 1944, and No. 9591 of July 21, 1945) is amended as follows: (a) Item No 6 is amended by changing the last sub-item thereof to read: "For a certified copy of executed form for repatriation of native-born American women under the Nationality Act of October 14, 1940 (54 Stat. 1146; 8 U.S.C. 717, (b)) ------- $1.00." (b) Item No. 24, first exception thereunder, is hereby revoked.

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Item No. 24 is amended by changing the second exception thereunder to read: "Administering the oath of allegiance under the National Act of October 14, 1940, as amended by the act of April 2, 1942, to a person who lost his citizenship by reason of military service with a country then at war with a country with which the Untied States was at war during the second World War (56 Stat. 198; 8 U.S.C. Supp.

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IV 723) ------- No fee." (d) Item No 24 is further amended by changing the third exception thereunder to read: "For administering the oath of allegiance under the Nationality Act of October 14, 1940, to a native-born woman who lost her citizenship sole by marriage to an alien and whose marriage is terminated (54 Stat 1146; 8 U.S.C. 717 (b) ----------- No fee."

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Immigration & Border Security
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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 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

"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
42 / 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

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

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

Moderate Friction

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%).
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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
305
1,708 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
8.4
Grade 8
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1745 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (22 U.S.C. 127) it is hereby ordered as follows: The Tariff of the United States Foreign Service Fees, prescribed by section V-15 (22 CRF Cum. Supp. 105.15) of the Foreign Service Regulations of the Untied States (Executive Order No. 7968 of September 3, 1938, as amended by Executive Orders No. 8297 of December 4, 1939, No. 9303 of February 11, 1943, No. 9407 of December 17, 1943, No. 9507 of December 20, 1944, and No. 9591 of July 21, 1945) is amended as follows: (a) Item No 6 is amended by changing the last sub-item thereof to read: "For a certified copy of executed form for repatriation of native-born American women under the Nationality Act of October 14, 1940 (54 Stat. 1146; 8 U.S.C. 717, (b)) ------- $1.00." (b) Item No. 24, first exception thereunder, is hereby revoked. (c) Item No. 24 is amended by changing the second exception thereunder to read: "Administering the oath of allegiance under the National Act of October 14, 1940, as amended by the act of April 2, 1942, to a person who lost his citizenship by reason of military service with a country then at war with a country with which the Untied States was at war during the second World War (56 Stat. 198; 8 U.S.C. Supp. IV 723) ------- No fee." (d) Item No 24 is further amended by changing the third exception thereunder to read: "For administering the oath of allegiance under the Nationality Act of October 14, 1940, to a native-born woman who lost her citizenship sole by marriage to an alien and whose marriage is terminated (54 Stat 1146; 8 U.S.C. 717 (b) ----------- No fee." HARRY S. TRUMAN

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

August 9, 1946

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 9767 (Aug. 9, 1946), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9767-amending-the-foreign-service-regulations-the-united-states.