Executive Order 10823 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 10823—Coat of Arms, Seal, and Flag of the President of the United States

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Tuesday, May 26, 1959

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2 min read (365 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 Dwight D. Eisenhower on 1959-05-26, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Coat of Arms, Seal, and Flag of the President of the United States." 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

▪ The Coat of Arms of the President of the United States shall be of the following design: SHIELD: Paleways of thirteen pieces argent and gules, a chief azure; upon the breast of an American eagle displayed holding in his dexter talon an olive branch and in his sinister a bundle of thirteen arrows all proper, and in his beak a white scroll inscribed "E PLURIBUS UNUM" sable.

▪ The whole surrounded by white stars arranged in the form of an annulet with one point of each star outward on the imaginary radiating center lines, the number of stars conforming to the number of stars in the union of the Flag of the United States as established by chapter 1 of title 4 of the United States Code.

▪ The Seal of the President of the United States shall consist of the Coat of Arms encircled by the words "Seal of the President of the United States." SEC.

▪ The Color and Flag of the President of the United States shall consist of a dark blue rectangular background of sizes and proportions to conform to military and naval custom, on which shall appear the Coat of Arms of the President in proper colors.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises

Total Words

365

2,027 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 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 No. 10823, Dwight D. Eisenhower (May 26, 1959). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10823-coat-arms-seal-and-flag-the-president-the-united-states.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The Coat of Arms of the President of the United States shall be of the following design: SHIELD: Paleways of thirteen pieces argent and gules, a chief azure; upon the breast of an American eagle displayed holding in his dexter talon an olive branch and in his sinister a bundle of thirteen arrows all proper, and in his beak a white scroll inscribed "E PLURIBUS UNUM" sable. CREST: Behind and above the eagle a radiating glory or, on which appears an arc of thirteen cloud puffs proper, and a constellation of thirteen mullets argent. The whole surrounded by white stars arranged in the form of an annulet with one point of each star outward on the imaginary radiating center lines, the number of stars conforming to the number of stars in the union of the Flag of the United States as established by chapter 1 of title 4 of the United States Code. SEC. 2. The Seal of the President of the United States shall consist of the Coat of Arms encircled by the words "Seal of the President of the United States." SEC. 3. The Color and Flag of the President of the United States shall consist of a dark blue rectangular background of sizes and proportions to conform to military and naval custom, on which shall appear the Coat of Arms of the President in proper colors. The proportions of the elements of the Coat of Arms shall be in direct relation to the hoist, and the fly shall vary according to the customs of the military and naval services. SEC. 4. The Coat of Arms, Seal, and Color and Flag shall be as described herein and as set forth in the illustrations and specifications which accompany this order and which are hereby made a part thereof. These designs shall be used to represent the President of the United States exclusively. SEC. 5. This order supersedes Executive Order No. 9646 of October 25, 1945, and shall become effective on July 4, 1959. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER THE WHITE HOUSE, May 26, 1959.