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Executive Orders Archive

Every President • 1789 to Present

Executive Order 10242 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 10242—Prescribing Regulations Governing the Exercise by the Federal Civil Defense Administrator of Certain Administrative Authority Granted by the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950

Tuesday, May 8, 1951
7 min read (1,389 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 1951-05-08, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Prescribing Regulations Governing the Exercise by the Federal Civil Defense Administrator of Certain Administrative Authority Granted by the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950." 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

Such authority may not be exercised, however, to fill positions at the regional or local levels subject to the Classification Act of 1949, as amended, unless in any particular instance the Administrator makes the determinations specified in section 102 hereof.
At least once every three months, the Chairman of the United States Civil Service Commission shall survey appointments made under this part and shall report his findings to the President and make such recommendations as he may deem proper.
The approval of the President is hereby given to the Administrator for the employment of retired personnel of the armed services, pursuant to the provisions of subsection 401(a) of the Act.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
Total Words
1,389
8,584 characters
Estimated Read Time
7 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
26.8
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 10242, Harry S Truman (May 8, 1951). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10242-prescribing-regulations-governing-the-exercise-the-federal-civil.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)