Executive Order 7901 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 7901—Authorizing the Attorney General To Sell Upon Public Exchanges Without Prior Advertisement Certain Property Held Under the Trading With the Enemy Act

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Tuesday, May 31, 1938

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1 min read (209 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 Franklin D. Roosevelt on 1938-05-31, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Authorizing the Attorney General To Sell Upon Public Exchanges Without Prior Advertisement Certain Property Held Under the Trading With the Enemy Act." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.

Constitutional Assessment: Evaluated against the Fifth Amendment, this action touches upon property or economic rights. An early statesman would insist upon strict adherence to due process of law and the constitutional guarantee that private holdings shall not be encumbered or taken for public purposes without just compensation and lawful process.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ 411, 423), as amended, and in the public interest I hereby authorize the Attorney General of the United States to sell any such property upon the various public exchanges, without prior advertisement, to any individual, corporation, partnership, or association, upon such terms and conditions and in such lots or amounts as he may deem advisable.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Total Words

209

1,279 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

32.2

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 7901, Franklin D. Roosevelt (May 31, 1938). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7901-authorizing-the-attorney-general-sell-upon-public-exchanges-without.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

Whereas certain property held by the Attorney General of the United States as successor in interest to the Alien Property Custodian consists of shares of stock, bonds, notes, or other beneficial interests, which are listed on the various public exchanges and have an established and ready market; and Whereas such property is not customarily sold, and cannot usually be sold to advantage, at public sale after public or other advertisement; and Whereas public or other advertisement of the sale of such property, or an attempt to sell such property at public auction, would be a useless formality and would necessitate the incurring of unwarranted expenses and costs and would result in unnecessary inconvenience and delay: Now, Therefore , by virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 12 of the Trading with the Enemy Act, approved October 6, 1917 (40 Stat. 411, 423), as amended, and in the public interest I hereby authorize the Attorney General of the United States to sell any such property upon the various public exchanges, without prior advertisement, to any individual, corporation, partnership, or association, upon such terms and conditions and in such lots or amounts as he may deem advisable. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, May 31, 1938.