Presidential Order Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order—Civil Service: Extension of the Classified Departmental and Indian Services

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Friday, March 20, 1896

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1 min read (181 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 Grover Cleveland on 1896-03-20, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "—Civil Service: Extension of the Classified Departmental and Indian Services." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.

Constitutional Assessment: Evaluated against the Fifth Amendment, this action touches upon property or economic rights. An early statesman would insist upon strict adherence to due process of law and the constitutional guarantee that private holdings shall not be encumbered or taken for public purposes without just compensation and lawful process.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ But Indians shall be eligible to appointment to any of said positions on such test of fitness as may be required by the Secretary of the Interior and without examination or certification by the Civil Service Commission; but they shall not be transferred from said positions to the departmental service.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Total Words

181

1,192 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

30.2

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order, "Executive Order—Civil Service: Extension of the Classified Departmental and Indian Services," Grover Cleveland (Mar 20, 1896). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-civil-service-extension-the-classified-departmental-and-indian-services.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the third paragraph of section 6 of the act entitled "An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States," approved January 16, 1883, I hereby direct the Secretary of the Interior to amend the classification of the Interior Department so as to include among the positions classified thereunder and subject to competitive examination clerk, assistant clerk, issue clerk, property clerk, storekeeper, and all other clerical positions at Indian agencies and Indian schools; likewise to amend the classification of the Indian service so as to include among the positions classified thereunder supervisor of Indian schools, day-school inspector, disciplinarian, industrial teacher, teacher of industries, kindergarten teacher, farmer, nurse, assistant matron, and seamstress. But Indians shall be eligible to appointment to any of said positions on such test of fitness as may be required by the Secretary of the Interior and without examination or certification by the Civil Service Commission; but they shall not be transferred from said positions to the departmental service. Approved, March 20, 1896. GROVER CLEVELAND.