Executive Order 7964 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.38)
Executive Order 7964—Instruction of Citizens of the American Republics at Educational Institutions and Schools Maintained and Administered by the Government of the United States
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 1938-08-29, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Instruction of Citizens of the American Republics at Educational Institutions and Schools Maintained and Administered by the Government of the United States." 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
▪1034), it is ordered as follows: 1.
▪Subject to the provisions and requirements of this Order, appropriate administrative regulations shall be drafted by each executive department or agency of the Government which maintains and administers educational institutions and schools coming within the scope of the legislation.
▪Such regulations shall carefully observe the limitations imposed by the said act of June 24, 1938, and shall in each case include: (a) A list of the institutions and courses in the department or agency concerned in which instruction is available under the terms of the legislation.
▪Applications for citizens of the other American republics to receive the instruction contemplated by the said act of June 24, 1938, shall be made formally through diplomatic channels to the Secretary of State by the foreign governments concerned.
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
556
3,430 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
20.7
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.38
Framers' Alignment index
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 7964, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Aug 29, 1938). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7964-instruction-citizens-the-american-republics-educational-institutions.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the act of June 1, 1938, entitled "An act to authorize the President to permit citizens of the American republics to receive instruction at professional educational institutions and schools maintained and administered by the Government of the United States or by departments or agencies thereof" (52 Stat. 1034), it is ordered as follows: 1. Subject to the provisions and requirements of this Order, appropriate administrative regulations shall be drafted by each executive department or agency of the Government which maintains and administers educational institutions and schools coming within the scope of the legislation. Such regulations shall carefully observe the limitations imposed by the said act of June 24, 1938, and shall in each case include: (a) A list of the institutions and courses in the department or agency concerned in which instruction is available under the terms of the legislation. (b) A statement of the maximum number of students of the other American republics who may be accommodated in each such institution or course at any one time. (c) A statement of the qualifications to be required of students of the other American republics for admission, including examinations, if any, to be passed. (d) Provisions to safeguard information that may be vital to the national defense or other interests of the United States. 2. Applications for citizens of the other American republics to receive the instruction contemplated by the said act of June 24, 1938, shall be made formally through diplomatic channels to the Secretary of State by the foreign governments concerned. 3. The Secretary of State shall refer the applications to the proper department or agency of the Government for advice as to what reply should be made to the application. 4. In order to enable the Secretary of State to reply to inquiries received from the governments of the other American republics, the Department of State shall be promptly supplied with copies of the regulations drafted by the other departments and agencies of the Government and of subsequent amendments thereto. 5. Upon receipt of a reply from another department or agency of the Government, as contemplated by paragraph No. 3 of this Order, in which it is recommended that an application be granted, the Secretary of State shall notify the government of the American republic concerned, through diplomatic channels, that permission to receive the instruction requested in the application is granted, provided the applicant complies with the terms of this Order and with the terms of the administrative regulations of the department or agency concerned. 6. In granting permission to citizens of the other American republics to receive instruction under the provisions of the said act of June 24, 1938, the Secretary of State shall limit the number of such permissions so that not more than one citizen of any one American republic shall receive instruction at the same time in the United States Military Academy and not more than one in the United States Naval Academy; and he shall not grant any such permission to a citizen of any of the American republics to receive instruction in any institution or school if the issuance of such permission will curtail the admission of citizens of the United States eligible to receive instruction therein. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, August 29, 1938.