Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
This executive order, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 1935-12-12, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Excusing Federal Employees from Duty at 1 p.m. on December 24 and 31, 1935." 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
▪For the purposes of this Order, in establishments or agencies in which the employees work in shifts, such employees shall, subject to the foregoing provisions, be excused from duty after four hours of work on the dates specified, and the several shifts shall be arranged accordingly.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
Total Words
225
1,382 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16.8
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 7249, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Dec 12, 1935). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7249-excusing-federal-employees-from-duty-1-pm-december-24-and-31-1935.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered that the several executive departments, independent establishments and other governmental agencies in the District of Columbia, including the Government Printing Office and the Navy Yard and stations, be closed at 1 P.M. on Tuesday, December 24, 1935, the day preceding Christmas Day, and at 1 P.M. on Tuesday, December 31, 1935, the day preceding New Year's Day; and ajl employees in the Federal service in the District of Columbia, and in the field service of the executive departments, independent establishments and other agencies of the Government, except those who may for special public reasons be excluded from the provisions of this Order by the heads of their respective departments, establishments or agencies, or those whose absence from duty would be inconsistent with the provisions of existing law, are hereby excused from duty at 1 P.M. on Tuesday, December 24, 1935, and at 1 P.M. on Tuesday, December 31, 1935. For the purposes of this Order, in establishments or agencies in which the employees work in shifts, such employees shall, subject to the foregoing provisions, be excused from duty after four hours of work on the dates specified, and the several shifts shall be arranged accordingly. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, December 12, 1935.
