Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
This executive order, signed by President Woodrow Wilson on 1917-04-28, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Censorship of Submarine Cables, Telegraph and Telephone Lines." 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
▪This order shall take effect from this date.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
Total Words
182
1,124 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
28.1
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
-0.44
Framers' Alignment index
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 2604, Woodrow Wilson (Apr 28, 1917). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-2604-censorship-submarine-cables-telegraph-and-telephone-lines.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
Whereas, the existence of a state of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government makes it essential to the public safety that no communication of a character which would aid the enemy or its allies shall be had, Therefore, by virtue of the power vested in me under the Constitution and by the Joint Resolution passed by Congress on April 6, 1917, declaring the existence of a state of war, it is ordered that all companies or other persons, owning, controlling or operating telegraph and telephone lines or submarine cables, are hereby prohibited from transmitting messages to points without the United States, and from delivering messages received from such points, except those permitted under rules and regulations to be established by the Secretary of War for telegraph and telephone lines, and by the Secretary of the Navy for submarine cables, To these Departments, respectively, is delegated the duty of preparing and enforcing rules and regulations under this order to accomplish the purpose mentioned. This order shall take effect from this date. WOODROW WILSON THE WHITE HOUSE, April 28, 1917.
