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Executive Order 11452 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.33)

Executive Order 11452—Establishing the Council for Urban Affairs

Richard Nixon Richard Nixon
•
Thursday, January 23, 1969
•
3 min read (524 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 Richard Nixon on 1969-01-23, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Establishing the Council for Urban Affairs." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1.
▪ The Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President.
▪ The Council shall advise and assist the President with respect to urban affairs and shall perform such other duties as the President may from time to time prescribe.
▪ The Executive Secretary shall perform such duties as the President may from time to time direct.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions
Total Words
524
3,311 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
15.4
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.33
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 11452, Richard Nixon (Jan 23, 1969). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11452-establishing-the-council-for-urban-affairs.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Establishment of the Council. (a) There is hereby established the Council for Urban Affairs (hereinafter referred to as "the Council"). (b) The President of the United States shall preside over meetings of the Council. The Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President. (c) The Council shall be composed of the following: The Vice President of the United States The Attorney General Secretary of Agriculture Secretary of Commerce Secretary of Labor Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Secretary of Transportation and such other heads of departments and agencies as the President may from time to time direct. SEC. 2. Functions of the Council. The Council shall advise and assist the President with respect to urban affairs and shall perform such other duties as the President may from time to time prescribe. In addition to such duties, the Council is directed to: (1) Assist the President in the development of a national urban policy, having regard both to immediate and to long-range concerns, and to priorities among them. (2) Promote the coordination of Federal programs in urban areas. (3) Encourage the fullest cooperation between Federal, State, and city governments, with special concern for the maintenance of local initiative and local decision making. (4) Ensure that policies concerning urban affairs shall extend to the relations of urban, suburban, and rural areas, to programs affecting them, and to the movement of population between them. (5) Seek constant improvement in the actual delivery of public services to citizens. (6) Foster the decentralization of government with the object that program responsibilities will be vested to the greatest possible extent in state and local government. (7) Encourage the most effective role possible for voluntary organizations in dealing with urban concerns. (8) Meet with and advise the President on the occasion of emergency situations, or conditions threatening the maintenance of civil order or civil rights. SEC. 3. Administrative Arrangements. (a) A person designated by the President shall serve as Executive Secretary of the Council. The Executive Secretary shall perform such duties as the President may from time to time direct. (b) In compliance with provisions of applicable law, and as necessary to effectuate the purposes of this order, (1) the White House Office shall provide or arrange for supporting clerical administrative and other staff services for the Council, and (2) each Federal department and agency which is represented on the Council shall furnish the Council such information and other assistance as may be available. SEC. 4. Construction. Nothing in this order shall be construed as subjecting any department, establishment, or other instrumentality of the executive branch of the Federal Government or the head thereof, or any function vested by law in or assigned pursuant to law to any such agency or head, to the authority of any other such agency or head or as abrogating, modifying, or restricting any such function in any manner. RICHARD NIXON The White House January 23, 1969