Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
This executive order, signed by President Richard Nixon on 1973-12-13, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Providing for the Closing of Government Departments and Agencies on Monday, December 24, 1973 and Monday, December 31, 1973." 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
▪All executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies, including their field services, except as provided by section 2 below, shall be closed, and employees thereof shall be excused from duty, on Monday, December 24, 1973, the day preceding Christmas Day and on Monday, December 31, 1973, the day preceding New Year's Day.
▪Monday, December 24, 1973, and Monday, December 31, 1973, shall be considered as falling within the scope of Executive Order 11582 and of 5 U.S.C.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
Total Words
209
1,272 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.3
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11750, Richard Nixon (Dec 13, 1973). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11750-providing-for-the-closing-government-departments-and-agencies-monday.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. All executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies, including their field services, except as provided by section 2 below, shall be closed, and employees thereof shall be excused from duty, on Monday, December 24, 1973, the day preceding Christmas Day and on Monday, December 31, 1973, the day preceding New Year's Day. SEC. 2. Section 1 of this order shall not apply to those offices and installations, or parts thereof, in the Department of State, the Department of Defense, or other departments, independent establishments, and governmental agencies which the heads thereof determine should remain open for reasons of national security or defense or other public reasons, nor to employees thereof who in judgment of their agency heads should be at their posts of duty for these reasons. SEC. 3. Monday, December 24, 1973, and Monday, December 31, 1973, shall be considered as falling within the scope of Executive Order 11582 and of 5 U.S.C. 5546 and 6103 (b) and other similar statutes so far as they relate to the pay and leave of employees of the United States. RICHARD NIXON The White House, December 13, 1973.
