Harry Truman Executive Order

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When a president issues an Executive Order, which has the power as a law, without the consent of congress, he is using his authority to act unilaterally. In other words, he is making decisions and laws on his own. This power is given to the president in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution which grants the President “executive Power." Section 3 of Article II further directs the President to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." Every president since the time of George Washington has issued Executive Orders. Most of these directives were not published and were only viewed by the agencies involved, however, in the early 1900s, the State Department began numbering them. Now, there are over 13,000 numbered Executive Orders. There are also Executive Orders that have been lost due to irresponsible record keeping. In 1862, President Lincoln acted unilaterally and issued the Emancipation Proclamation to suspend the “writ of habeas corpus” (This Nation.com, American Government and Politics Online 2015)…show more content…
On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman desegregated the military under Executive Order 9981. (The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum n.d.) In answer to the September 11, 2001 attacks on The World Trade Center and Pentagon, President George W. Bush issued EO 13223, ordering the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces to Active Duty and Delegating Certain Authorities to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation. Presidents Kennedy EO 10925 bared racial discrimination in federal housing, hiring and contracting. (National Archives and Records Administration

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