Executive Order 2709 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 2709—German Boats

•

Thursday, September 27, 1917

•

1 min read (76 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 Woodrow Wilson on 1917-09-27, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "German Boats." 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

▪ It is hereby authorized that through the Secretary of the Navy there shall be taken over to the United States the immediate possession and title to the German motor vessel Hermes, now at Honolulu, and until further directions, the Secretary of the Navy is ordered to operate and equip this vessel in the service of the Navy of the United states.

▪ This order shall take effect from date.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments

Total Words

437 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

13.4

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 2709, Woodrow Wilson (Sep 27, 1917). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-2709-german-boats.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

It is hereby authorized that through the Secretary of the Navy there shall be taken over to the United States the immediate possession and title to the German motor vessel Hermes, now at Honolulu, and until further directions, the Secretary of the Navy is ordered to operate and equip this vessel in the service of the Navy of the United states. This order shall take effect from date. WOODROW WILSON THE WHITE HOUSE, September 27, 1917.