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Executive Orders Archive

Every President • 1789 to Present

Executive Order 5849 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 5849—Transferring to Control and Jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy Certain Lands Opposite Balboa, and Establishing Thereon a Naval Base in the Canal Zone

Thursday, May 19, 1932
3 min read (664 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 Herbert Hoover on 1932-05-19, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Transferring to Control and Jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy Certain Lands Opposite Balboa, and Establishing Thereon a Naval Base in the Canal Zone." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

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

By virtue of the authority vested in me by law, the area of land hereinafter described, situated in the Canal Zone, is hereby set apart and assigned to the uses and purposes of a naval reservation under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy; but said area shall be subject to the civil control and jurisdiction of the Cana) Zone authorities, in conformity with the Panama Canal Act (37 Stat.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Total Words
664
3,696 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
6.6
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 5849, Herbert Hoover (May 19, 1932). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5849-transferring-control-and-jurisdiction-the-secretary-the-navy-certain.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)