Date of Award

6-2010

Document Type

Union College Only

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

History

First Advisor

Robert Wells

Language

English

Keywords

executive, orders, issued, chapter, authority

Abstract

My thesis consists of a case study of three different executive orders that have had lasting impacts on our country. The Executive Orders that I chose were: 9066, 10340, and 13233. I picked these orders because they all pertain to national security, were issued during a state of national fear, and have had the effect of vastly expanding the president’s power. To complete my study I answered questions that would provide me with an in depth analysis that enabled me to understand better how certain environments create an atmosphere which allow presidents to issue executive orders that substantially strengthen their power as well as infringe on civil liberties. The first executive order is unknown because it wasn’t until 1907 that the State Department decided to begin to officially document and record them. There is a continuing debate regarding the origins of the authority of the president to issue executive orders that carry the force of law because nowhere does the US Constitution grant the president the authority to issue orders carrying the force of law. My first chapter examines Executive Order 9066, Japanese internment, the order was issued by Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19th, 1942; my second chapter analyzes Executive Order 10340, steel seizure, the order was issued by Harry Truman on April 8th, 1952; and my third chapter examines Executive Order 13233, restricting public access to presidential records, the order was issued by George W. Bush on November 1st, 2001. These case studies are meant to demonstrate the danger of executive orders when the executive branch is unchecked.

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