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Executive Order 9848 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 9848—Disposal of Certain Foreign Merchant Vessels

Harry S Truman Harry S Truman
•
Thursday, May 8, 1947
•
2 min read (316 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (316 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The United States Maritime Commission is hereby authorized and directed to dispose of any of the above-mentioned vessels which are not longer needed by the United States, in accordance with the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, and other laws authorizing the sale of vessels: Provided, That the proposed disposition of any such vessel shall be found by the Secretary of State to be consistent with the foreign policies of the United States and shall be found by the Attorney general to be without prejudice to the interests of the United States in any litigation in which any such vessel may be involved: And provided further, That the moneys perceived on account of the sale or return of any such vessel, after deduction…

View all 1 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Private Citizens & Property Owners Foreign Nations & International Entities Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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 May 8, 1947, this order concerns Disposal of Certain Foreign Merchant Vessels. The United States Maritime Commission is hereby authorized and directed to dispose of any of the above-mentioned vessels which are not longer needed by the United States, in accordance with the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, and other laws authorizing the sale of vessels: Provided, That the proposed disposition of any such vessel shall be found by the Secretary of State to be consistent…

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

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The United States Maritime Commission is hereby authorized and directed to dispose of any of the above-mentioned vessels which are not longer needed by the United States, in accordance with the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, and other laws authorizing the sale of vessels: Provided, That the proposed disposition of any such vessel shall be found by the Secretary of State to be consistent with the foreign policies of the United States and shall be found by the Attorney general to be without prejudice to the interests of the United States in any litigation in which any such vessel may be involved: And provided further, That the moneys perceived on account of the sale or return of any such vessel, after deduction…

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Economy & Finance
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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)
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"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: Supportive of Execution
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.

🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
23 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

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

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

Low Friction

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

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 in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.

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
316
1,840 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
28.3
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

WHEREAS the United States Maritime Commission, by virtue of the authority vested in it by Executive Order No. 8771 of June 6, 1941, as amended by Executive Order No. 89881 of September 2, 1941, took over title to and possession of certain foreign merchant vessels lying idle in the waters within the jurisdiction of the United States; and WHEREAS the United States no longer has need of certain such vessels; and WHEREAS it is in the public interest that such unneeded vessels be disposed of by the United States Maritime Commission if such disposition is consistent with the foreign policies of the United States and will not prejudice the interests of the United States in any litigation involving any such vessel:

NOW, THEREFORE, #now-therefore

by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1 of the act of June 6, 1941, 55 Stat. 242, it is hereby ordered as follows: The United States Maritime Commission is hereby authorized and directed to dispose of any of the above-mentioned vessels which are not longer needed by the United States, in accordance with the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, and other laws authorizing the sale of vessels: Provided, That the proposed disposition of any such vessel shall be found by the Secretary of State to be consistent with the foreign policies of the United States and shall be found by the Attorney general to be without prejudice to the interests of the United States in any litigation in which any such vessel may be involved: And provided further, That the moneys perceived on account of the sale or return of any such vessel, after deduction therefrom of any expenses incurred by the Commission in connection with such sale or return, shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of miscellaneous receipts. HARRY S. TRUMAN

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

May 8, 1947

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 9848 (May 8, 1947), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9848-disposal-certain-foreign-merchant-vessels.