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Executive Order 9857 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 9857-A—Medal for Merit

Harry S Truman Harry S Truman
•
Tuesday, May 27, 1947
•
2 min read (397 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 1947-05-27, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "A—Medal for Merit." 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

▪ 9637 of October 3, 1945, prescribing rules and regulations for the award of the decoration of the Medal for Merit, created by the said act, is hereby amended to read as follows: 1.
▪ The decoration of the Medal for Merit shall be awarded only by the President of the United States or at his direction.
▪ Awards of the Medal for Merit made to civilians of foreign nations shall be for the performance of an exceptionally meritorious or courageous act or acts in furtherance of the war efforts of the United Nations.
▪ There is hereby established the Medal for Merit Board, which shall be composed of three members appointed by the President, one of whom shall be designated by the President to act as Chairman of the Board.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
Total Words
397
2,308 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
14.8
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 9857, Harry S Truman (May 27, 1947). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9857-medal-for-merit.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 2 of the act of July 20, 1942, 56b Stat. 662 Executive Order No. 9637 of October 3, 1945, prescribing rules and regulations for the award of the decoration of the Medal for Merit, created by the said act, is hereby amended to read as follows: 1. The decoration of the Medal for Merit shall be awarded only by the President of the United States or at his direction. Awards of the Medal for Merit may be made to such civilians of the nations prosecuting the war under the joint declaration of the United Nations and of other friendly foreign nations as have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services since the proclamation of an emergency by the President on September 8, 1939. Awards of the Medal for Merit made to civilians of foreign nations shall be for the performance of an exceptionally meritorious or courageous act or acts in furtherance of the war efforts of the United Nations. 2. There is hereby established the Medal for Merit Board, which shall be composed of three members appointed by the President, one of whom shall be designated by the President to act as Chairman of the Board. 3. The Medal for Merit Board shall receive and consider proposals for the award of the decoration of the Medal for Merit and submit to the President the recommendations of the Board with respect thereto. In the case of proposed awards to civilians of foreign nations, such recommendations shall include the recommendations of the Secretary of State. 4. The Medal for Merit Board is authorized to prescribe, with the approval of the President, such rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this order as may be necessary to accomplish its purposes. 5. Executive Order 9331 of April 19, 1943, and the Medal for Merit Board created thereby, are superseded by this order. 6. The Medal for Merit shall not be awarded for any services relating to the prosecution of World War II performed subsequent to the cessation of hostilities, as proclaimed by Proclamation No. 2714 of December 31, 1946, and no proposal for an award for such services submitted after June 30, 1947, shall be considered by the Medal for Merit Board. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, May 27, 1947