Executive Order 9631 Constitutional Friction / Overreach (-0.83)

Executive Order 9631—Termination of the Office of Censorship

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Friday, September 28, 1945

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2 min read (354 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 Harry S Truman on 1945-09-28, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Termination of the Office of Censorship." 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

▪ The Office of Censorship, established by Executive Order No.

▪ 8985 of December 19, 1941, shall continue to function for the purposes of liquidation until the close of business on November 15, 1945, at which time the Office (including the office of the Director of Censorship) shall terminate.

▪ When no longer needed for carrying out the provisions of this order, the property and records of the Office of Censorship shall be disposed of in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and the personnel of the Office shall be transferred or separated from the Office as the interests of the Government may require.

▪ Such further measures and dispositions as may be determined by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget to be necessary to effectuate the purposes and provisions of this order shall be carried out in such manner as the Director may direct and by such agencies as he may designate.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Total Words

354

2,115 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

-0.83

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 9631, Harry S Truman (Sep 28, 1945). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9631-termination-the-office-censorship.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, and as President of the United States, and since the censoring of communications has been heretofore discontinued in accordance with my direction, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1. The Office of Censorship, established by Executive Order No. 8985 of December 19, 1941, shall continue to function for the purposes of liquidation until the close of business on November 15, 1945, at which time the Office (including the office of the Director of Censorship) shall terminate. The Censorship Policy Board, created by the said Executive order, is terminated this date. For the purpose of completing the liquidation of the affairs of the Office of Censorship, all property and records of the Office on hand on November 15, 1945, together with its remaining personnel and any balances of appropriations then unexpended, shall be transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury, and so much thereof as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget shall determine to be necessary for such purpose shall be utilized by the Secretary in winding up the affairs of the Office. 2. When no longer needed for carrying out the provisions of this order, the property and records of the Office of Censorship shall be disposed of in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and the personnel of the Office shall be transferred or separated from the Office as the interests of the Government may require. 3. Such further measures and dispositions as may be determined by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget to be necessary to effectuate the purposes and provisions of this order shall be carried out in such manner as the Director may direct and by such agencies as he may designate. 4. Nothing contained in this order shall be deemed to affect any proceedings instituted, or any forfeitures incurred, under section 303 of the First War Powers Act, 1941, or regulations occurring prior to August 16, 1945. 5. All prior Executive orders which are in conflict with this order are amended accordingly. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, September 28, 1945