Executive Order 9029 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 9029—Withdrawing Public Lands for Use of the War Department as a General Bombing Range

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Tuesday, January 20, 1942

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1 min read (298 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 1942-01-20, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Withdrawing Public Lands for Use of the War Department as a General Bombing Range." 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

▪ 1341) it is ordered that, subject to valid existing rights, the public lands in the following-described areas be, and they are hereby, withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public-land laws, including the mining laws, and reserved for the use of the War Department as a general bombing range: New Mexico Principal Meridian Tps.

▪ This order shall take precedence over, but shall not rescind or revoke, (1) the Executive Order of April 27, 1926, creating Public Water Reserve No.

▪ In connection with the use by the War Department of the lands described herein, the local army commandant shall consult with such local representatives of the Department of the Interior as may be designated by the Secretary of the Interior as to the location of bombtarget sites, for the purpose of minimizing the effect of demolition bombing in areas valuable for scientific purposes.

▪ It is intended that the lands reserved by this order shall be returned to the administration of the Department of the Interior when they are no longer needed for the purpose for which they are reserved.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Total Words

298

1,696 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

10.4

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 9029, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Jan 20, 1942). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9029-withdrawing-public-lands-for-use-the-war-department-general-bombing.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

NEW MEXICO By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1 of the act of July 9, 1918, C. 143, 40 Stat. 845, 848 (U.S.C., title 10, sec. 1341) it is ordered that, subject to valid existing rights, the public lands in the following-described areas be, and they are hereby, withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public-land laws, including the mining laws, and reserved for the use of the War Department as a general bombing range: New Mexico Principal Meridian Tps. 6 S. to 10 S., R. 3 E., inclusive. Tps. 6 S. to 16 S., Rs. 4 E. to 7 E., inclusive. Tps. 11 S. to 16 S., R. 8 E., inclusive. The areas described, including both public and non-public lands, aggregate 1,249,904.36 acres. This order shall take precedence over, but shall not rescind or revoke, (1) the Executive Order of April 27, 1926, creating Public Water Reserve No. 107, and (2) the order of the Secretary of the Interior of April 8, 1935, establishing Grazing District No. 4, New Mexico, so far as such orders affect any of the lands in the above-described areas. In connection with the use by the War Department of the lands described herein, the local army commandant shall consult with such local representatives of the Department of the Interior as may be designated by the Secretary of the Interior as to the location of bombtarget sites, for the purpose of minimizing the effect of demolition bombing in areas valuable for scientific purposes. It is intended that the lands reserved by this order shall be returned to the administration of the Department of the Interior when they are no longer needed for the purpose for which they are reserved. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, January 20, 1942.