Executive Order 10863 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
Executive Order 10863—Authorizing the Attorney General To Seize Arms and Munitions of War, and Other Articles, Pursuant to Section 1 of Title VI of the Act of June 15, 1917, as Amended
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 1960-02-18, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Authorizing the Attorney General To Seize Arms and Munitions of War, and Other Articles, Pursuant to Section 1 of Title VI of the Act of June 15, 1917, as Amended." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.
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
▪As amended by section 1 of the act of August 13, 1953, 67 Stat.
▪401), it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Total Words
248
1,313 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16.1
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 10863, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Feb 18, 1960). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10863-authorizing-the-attorney-general-seize-arms-and-munitions-war-and.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1 of Title VI of the act of June 15, 1917, 40 Stat. 223. as amended by section 1 of the act of August 13, 1953, 67 Stat. 577 (22 U.S.C. 401), it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The Attorney General is hereby designated under section 1 of Title VI of the act of June 15, 1917, as amended by section 1 of the act of August 13,1953, as a person duly authorized to seize and detain arms or munitions of war or other articles, and to seize and detain any vessel, vehicle, or aircraft containing such items or which has been, or is being, used in exporting or attempting to export such arms or munitions of war or other articles, whenever an attempt is made to export or ship from or take out of the United States such arms or munitions of war or other articles in violation of law, or whenever it is known, or there is probable cause to believe, that such arms or munitions of war or other articles are intended to be, or are being or have been, exported or removed from the United States in violation of law. SEC. 2. The authority conferred upon the Attorney General by section 1 of this order may be exercised by any officer of the Department of Justice designated for such purpose by the Attorney General. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER THE WHITE HOUSE, February 18, 1960.
