Presidential Order Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order—Authorizing Lorenzo Thomas to Act as Secretary of War

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Friday, February 21, 1868

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1 min read (87 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 Andrew Johnson on 1868-02-21, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "—Authorizing Lorenzo Thomas to Act as Secretary of War." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.

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

▪ Stanton having been this day removed from office as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim , and will immediately enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Total Words

546 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order, "Executive Order—Authorizing Lorenzo Thomas to Act as Secretary of War," Andrew Johnson (Feb 21, 1868). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-authorizing-lorenzo-thomas-act-secretary-war.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

Brevet Major-General LORENZO THOMAS, Adjutant-General United States Army, Washington, D.C. SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim , and will immediately enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office. Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records, books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge. Respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON.