Executive Order 9974 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
Executive Order 9974—Extension of Executive Order No. 9898 of October 14, 1947, as Amended, Suspending the Eight-Hour Law as to Laborers and Mechanics Employed by the Departments of the Army and the Air Force on Certain Public Works
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 1948-07-01, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Extension of Executive Order No. 9898 of October 14, 1947, as Amended, Suspending the Eight-Hour Law as to Laborers and Mechanics Employed by the Departments of the Army and the Air Force on Certain Public Works." 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
▪9898 of October 14, 1947, as amended by Executive Order No.
▪340, as amended by the act of March 3, 1913, 37 Stat.
▪This order shall become effective on July 1, 1948.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Total Words
283
1,563 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
15
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 9974, Harry S Truman (Jul 1, 1948). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9974-extension-executive-order-no-9898-october-14-1947-amended-suspending.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
WHEREAS Executive Order No. 9898 of October 14, 1947, as amended by Executive Order No. 9926 of January 17, 1948, suspends until July 1, 1948, the provisions of section 1 of the act of August 1, 1892, 27 Stat. 340, as amended by the act of March 3, 1913, 37 Stat. 726 (the eight-hour law), as to all work performed by laborers and mechanics employed by the Department of the Army or the Department of the Air Force with respect to which the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Air Force, respectively, shall find suspension essential to (1) the supply and maintenance of the military or naval forces, (2) the completion of essential construction, or (3) the fulfillment of international commitments: Provided, that the wages of all laborers and mechanics so employed shall be computed on a basic day rate of eight hours of work with overtime to be paid at time and one-half for all hours of work in excess of eight hours in any one day; and WHEREAS I find that the extraordinary emergency described in the said Executive order and constituting the basis of the suspension effected thereby still exists: NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1 of the said act of August 1, 1892, as amended by the said act of March 3, 1913, and as President of the United States, I hereby extend the provisions of the said Executive Order No. 9898 of October 14, 1947, as amended by Executive Order No. 9926 of January 17, 1948, to July 1, 1949. This order shall become effective on July 1, 1948. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, July 1, 1948
