Executive Order 9523 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 9523—Authorizing the Secretary of War to Take Possession of and Operate the Plants and Facilities of the American Enka Corporation Located at or Near Enka, North Carolina

•

Sunday, February 18, 1945

•

2 min read (301 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 1945-02-18, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Authorizing the Secretary of War to Take Possession of and Operate the Plants and Facilities of the American Enka Corporation Located at or Near Enka, North Carolina." 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

▪ Possession of any plants or facilities so taken shall be terminated by the Secretary of War within sixty days after he determines that such possession is no longer necessary for the effective prosecution of the war.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments

Total Words

301

1,795 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 9523, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Feb 18, 1945). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9523-authorizing-the-secretary-war-take-possession-and-operate-the-plants.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

Whereas after investigation I find and proclaim that the plants and facilities of the American Enka Corporation located at or near Enka, North Carolina, are plants and facilities that are equipped for the manufacture and production of articles or materials which may be required for the war effort or which may be useful in connection therewith; that as a result of labor disturbances there is a threatened interruption of the operations of the said plants and facilities of the American Enka Corporation; that the war effort will be unduly impeded or delayed by these interruptions and that the exercise as hereinafter specified of the powers and authority vested in me is necessary to insure in the interest of the war effort the operation of these plants and facilities; Now, Therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, including the War Labor Disputes Act and the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 as amended, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, I hereby authorize the Secretary of War to take possession of the plants and facilities of the American Enka Corporation located at or near Enka, North Carolina, together with any real or personal property, wherever situated, used in connection therewith, and to operate such plants and facilities in accordance with the provisions of all applicable laws and in such manner as he may deem necessary for the effective prosecution of the war. Possession of any plants or facilities so taken shall be terminated by the Secretary of War within sixty days after he determines that such possession is no longer necessary for the effective prosecution of the war. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, February 18, 1945.