Executive Order 7970 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 7970—Regulations Governing the Grades and Ratings of Enlisted Men of the Regular Army for the Fiscal Year 1939

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Monday, September 12, 1938

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1 min read (207 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 1938-09-12, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Regulations Governing the Grades and Ratings of Enlisted Men of the Regular Army for the Fiscal Year 1939." 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

▪ 1554, it is ordered that during the fiscal year 1939 the grades and ratings of the enlisted men of the Regular Army shall be as set forth herein, and that the number of enlisted men in the several grades and ratings shall not exceed the number specified herein.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments

Total Words

207

1,640 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

21.9

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 7970, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Sep 12, 1938). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7970-regulations-governing-the-grades-and-ratings-enlisted-men-the-regular.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the act of June 20, 1936, 49 Stat. 1554, it is ordered that during the fiscal year 1939 the grades and ratings of the enlisted men of the Regular Army shall be as set forth herein, and that the number of enlisted men in the several grades and ratings shall not exceed the number specified herein. 1. The several grades and the maximum number of enlisted men therein shall be as follows: Number 1st Grade—Master Sergeants-------------------------- 1,170 2d Grade—First Sergeants and Technical Sergeants---- 3,133 3d Grade—Staff Sergeants----------------------------- 5,055 4th Grade—Sergeants---------------------------------- 14,836 5th Grade—Corporals---------------------------------- 14,285 6th Grade—Privates, 1st Class------------------------- 44,488 7th Grade—Privates, the number of whom will be such that when added to the number of enlisted men above Grade Seven and to the authorized number of flying cadets the total will not exceed the enlisted pay strength of the Army appropriated for by the "Military Appropriation Act, 1939", approved June 11, 1938. 2. Specialists ratings and the maximum number of enlisted men therein shall be as follows: Number 1st Class--------------------------------------------- 909 2nd Class-------------------------------------------- 1,549 3rd Class-------------------------------------------- 2,437 4th Class-------------------------------------------- 6,797 5th Class-------------------------------------------- 7,120 6th Class-------------------------------------------- 19,472 FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, September 12, 1938.