EXECUTIVE MANSION, November 15, 1883. It is hereby ordered that the tract of country in the Territory of Arizona embraced within the following-described boundaries, which covers and adds to the present reservation as set apart by act of Congress approved February 28, 1859 (11 Stats., 401), and Executive orders dated August 31, 1876, June 14, 1879, and May 5, 1882, viz, beginning at a point in the middle of Salt River 4 miles east from the intersection of said river with the Gila River, being the northeast corner of the Executive addition of June 14, 1879; thence southeasterly along the boundary line of said Executive addition to the township line between townships 1 and 2 south, range 2 east of the Gila and Salt River meridian; thence east on the township lines between townships 1 and 2 south to the northeast corner of township 2 south, range 4 east; thence south on the range line between ranges 4 and 5 east to the southeast corner of township 2 south, range 4 east; thence east on the township lines between townships 2 and 3 south to the northeast corner of township 3 south, range 6 east; thence south on the range line between ranges 6 and 7 east to the southeast corner of township 3 south, range 6 east; thence east on the township lines between townships 3 and 4 south to the quarter-section corner on the north boundary of section 3, township 4 south, range 8 east; thence south through the middle of sections 3, 10, 15, 22, 27,and 34, in township 4 south, range 8 east, and section 3, in township 5 south, range 8 east, to the northeast corner of the present reservation as established by Executive order dated August 31, 1876, being the northeast corner of the southwest quarter of section 3, township 5 south, range 8 east; thence following the boundary line of said reservation southwest and north to the northeast corner of section 2, township 5 south, range 7 east; thence south on the section lines to the southeast corner of section 11, in township 5 south, range 7 east; thence west on the section lines through ranges 7, 6, and 5 east to the southwest corner of section 7, township 5 south, range 5 east; thence north on the range line between ranges 4 and 5 east to the northwest corner of section 18, township 4 south, range 5 east; thence west on the section lines through ranges 4, 3, and 2 east to the southwest corner of section 7, township 4 south, range 2 east; thence north on the range line between ranges 1 and 2 east to the northwest corner of section 19, in township 2 south, range 2 east; thence west on the section lines through range 1 east to the southwest corner of section 18, township 2 south, range 1 east on the Gila and Salt River meridian; thence north on the Gila and Salt River meridian to a point in the Gila River opposite the middle of the mouth of Salt River; thence up the middle of Salt River to the place of beginning, as approximately represented on the accompanying diagram, be, and the same is hereby, withdrawn from sale and settlement and set apart for the use and occupancy of the Pima and Maricopa Indians: Provided, however. That any tract or tracts of land included within the foregoing-described boundaries the title of which has passed out of the United States Government, or to which valid homestead or pre-emption rights have attached under the laws of the United States prior to the date of this order, are hereby excluded from the reservation hereby made. CHESTER A. ARTHUR.
Executive Order—Pima and Maricopa Indian Reserve
Executive Brief • At a Glance
The tract of country in the Territory of Arizona embraced within the following-described boundaries, which covers and adds to the present reservation as set apart by act of Congress approved February 28, 1859 (11 Stats., 401), and Executive orders dated August 31, 1876, June 14, 1879, and May 5, 1882, viz, beginning at a point in the middle of Salt River 4 miles east from the intersection of said river with the Gila River, being the northeast corner of the Executive addition of June 14, 1879; thence southeasterly along the boundary line of said Executive addition to the township line between townships 1 and 2 south, range 2 east of the Gila and Salt River meridian; thence east on the township lines between townships 1 and 2 south to the…
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Chester A. Arthur on November 15, 1883, this order concerns Pima and Maricopa Indian Reserve. The tract of country in the Territory of Arizona embraced within the following-described boundaries, which covers and adds to the present reservation as set apart by act of Congress approved February 28, 1859 (11 Stats., 401), and Executive orders dated August 31, 1876, June 14, 1879, and May 5, 1882, viz, beginning at a point in the middle of Salt River 4 miles east from the intersection of said river with the…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
The tract of country in the Territory of Arizona embraced within the following-described boundaries, which covers and adds to the present reservation as set apart by act of Congress approved February 28, 1859 (11 Stats., 401), and Executive orders dated August 31, 1876, June 14, 1879, and May 5, 1882, viz, beginning at a point in the middle of Salt River 4 miles east from the intersection of said river with the Gila River, being the northeast corner of the Executive addition of June 14, 1879; thence southeasterly along the boundary line of said Executive addition to the township line between townships 1 and 2 south, range 2 east of the Gila and Salt River meridian; thence east on the township lines between townships 1 and 2 south to the…
That any tract or tracts of land included within the foregoing-described boundaries the title of which has passed out of the United States Government, or to which valid homestead or pre-emption rights have attached under the laws of the United States prior to the date of this order, are hereby excluded from the reservation hereby made.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
Policy Areas & Topics
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)
Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.
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.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order, Pima and Maricopa Indian Reserve (Nov. 15, 1883), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-pima-and-maricopa-indian-reserve.