Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
This executive order, signed by President Andrew Johnson on 1865-09-16, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "—General Orders: 138." 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
▪Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands-- It is ordered.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
Total Words
280
1,916 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
19.9
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order, "Executive Order—General Orders: 138," Andrew Johnson (Sep 16, 1865). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-general-orders-138.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE To provide for the transportation required by the Bureau of Refugees. Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands-- It is ordered. That upon the requisition of the Commissioner or the assistant commissioners of the Bureau transportation be furnished such destitute refugees and freedmen as are dependent upon the Government for support to points where they can procure employment and subsistence and support themselves, and thus relieve the Government, provided such transportation be confined by assistant commissioners within the limits of their jurisdiction. Second. Free transportation on Government transports and United States military railroads will be furnished to such teachers only of refugees and freedmen, and persons laboring voluntarily in behalf of refugees and freedmen, as may be duly accredited by the Commissioner or assistant commissioners of the Bureau. All stores and schoolbooks necessary to the subsistence, comfort, and instruction of dependent refugees and freedmen may be transported at Government expense, when such stores and books shall be turned over to the officers of the Quartermaster's Department, with the approval of the assistant commissioners, Commissioner, or department commander, the same to be transported as public stores, consigned to the quartermaster of the post to which they are destined, who, after inspection, will turn them over to the assistant commissioners or Bureau agent for whom they are intended for distribution. All army officers traveling on public duty, under the orders of the commissioners, within the limits of their respective jurisdictions, will be entitled to mileage or actual cost of transportation, according to the revised Army Regulations, when transportation has not been furnished them by the Quartermaster's Department. By order of the President of the United States: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.