Executive orders issued by presidents of the United States to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage operations within the community.
At the federal level of government in the United States, laws are made almost exclusively by legislation. Such legislation originates as an Act of Congress passed by the United States Congress; such acts were either signed into law by the president or passed by Congress after a presidential veto.
So, legislation is not the only source of regulations. There is also judge-made common law and constitutional law. The president can issue executive orders pursuant to a grant of discretion from Congress, or under the inherent powers that office holds to deal with certain matters which have the force of law.
Many early executive orders were not recorded. The State Department began numbering executive orders in the early 20th century, starting retroactively from President Abraham Lincoln's Executive Order Establishing a Provisional Court in Louisiana issued in 1862.
# | President | Party | Total executive orders | Order number range | Years in office | Executive orders per year | Period |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | George Washington | Unaffiliated | 8 | unnumbered | 7.95 | 1.0 | April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797 |
2 | John Adams | Federalist | 1 | unnumbered | 4 | 0.3 | March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801 |
3 | Thomas Jefferson | Democratic-Republican | 4 | unnumbered | 8 | 0.5 | March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809 |
4 | James Madison | Democratic-Republican | 1 | unnumbered | 8 | 0.1 | March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817 |
5 | James Monroe | Democratic-Republican | 1 | unnumbered | 8 | 0.1 | March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825 |
6 | John Quincy Adams | Democratic-Republican | 3 | unnumbered | 4 | 0.8 | March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829 |
7 | Andrew Jackson | Democratic | 12 | unnumbered | 8 | 1.5 | March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1837 |
8 | Martin Van Buren | Democratic | 10 | unnumbered | 4 | 2.5 | March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1841 |
9 | William Henry Harrison | Whig | 0 | unnumbered | 0.08 | 0.0 | March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841 |
10 | John Tyler | Whig | 17 | unnumbered | 3.92 | 4.3 | April 4, 1841 – March 4, 1845 |
11 | James K. Polk | Democratic | 18 | unnumbered | 4 | 4.5 | March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849 |
12 | Zachary Taylor | Whig | 5 | unnumbered | 1.34 | 3.7 | March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850 |
13 | Millard Fillmore | Whig | 12 | unnumbered | 2.66 | 4.5 | July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853 |
14 | Franklin Pierce | Democratic | 35 | unnumbered | 4 | 8.8 | March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857 |
15 | James Buchanan | Democratic | 16 | unnumbered | 4 | 4.0 | March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861 |
16 | Abraham Lincoln | Republican | 48 | unnumbered | 4.11 | 11.7 | March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865 |
17 | Andrew Johnson | Democratic | 79 | unnumbered | 3.89 | 20.3 | April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869 |
18 | Ulysses S. Grant | Republican | 217 | unnumbered | 8 | 27.1 | March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877 |
19 | Rutherford B. Hayes | Republican | 92 | unnumbered | 4 | 23.0 | March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881 |
20 | James A. Garfield | Republican | 6 | unnumbered | 0.54 | 11.1 | March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881 |
21 | Chester A. Arthur | Republican | 96 | unnumbered | 3.46 | 27.7 | September 19, 1881 – March 4, 1885 |
22 | Grover Cleveland - I | Democratic | 113 | unnumbered | 4 | 28.3 | March 4, 1885 – March 4, 1889 |
23 | Benjamin Harrison | Republican | 143 | unnumbered | 4 | 35.8 | March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1893 |
24 | Grover Cleveland - II | Democratic | 140 | unnumbered | 4 | 35.0 | March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897 |
25 | William McKinley | Republican | 185 | 97–140 | 4.53 | 40.9 | March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901 |
26 | Theodore Roosevelt | Republican | 1,081 | 141–1050 | 7.47 | 144.7 | September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909 |
27 | William Howard Taft | Republican | 724 | 1051–1743 | 4 | 181.0 | March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913 |
28 | Woodrow Wilson | Democratic | 1,803 | 1744–3415 | 8 | 225.4 | March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921 |
29 | Warren G. Harding | Republican | 522 | 3416–3885 | 2.41 | 216.9 | March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923 |
30 | Calvin Coolidge | Republican | 1,203 | 3885-A–5075 | 5.59 | 215.2 | August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929 |
31 | Herbert Hoover | Republican | 1,003 | 5076–6070 | 4 | 250.8 | March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933 |
32 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Democratic | 3,727 | 6071–9537 | 12.11 | 307.8 | March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945 |
33 | Harry S. Truman | Democratic | 907 | 9538–10431 | 7.77 | 116.7 | April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953 |
34 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Republican | 484 | 10432–10913 | 8 | 60.5 | January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961 |
35 | John F. Kennedy | Democratic | 214 | 10914–11127 | 2.84 | 75.4 | January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963 |
36 | Lyndon B. Johnson | Democratic | 325 | 11128–11451 | 5.16 | 62.9 | November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969 |
37 | Richard Nixon | Republican | 346 | 11452–11797 | 5.56 | 62.3 | January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974 |
38 | Gerald Ford | Republican | 169 | 11798–11966 | 2.45 | 69.1 | August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977 |
39 | Jimmy Carter | Democratic | 320 | 11967–12286 | 4 | 80.0 | January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981 |
40 | Ronald Reagan | Republican | 381 | 12287–12667 | 8 | 47.6 | January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989 |
41 | George H. W. Bush | Republican | 166 | 12668–12833 | 4 | 41.5 | January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 |
42 | Bill Clinton | Democratic | 364 | 12834–13197 | 8 | 45.5 | January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 |
43 | George W. Bush | Republican | 291 | 13198–13488 | 8 | 36.4 | January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009 |
44 | Barack Obama | Democratic | 276 | 13489–13764 | 8 | 34.6 | January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017 |
45 | Donald Trump – I | Republican | 220 | 13765–13984 | 4 | 55.0 | January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021 |
46 | Joe Biden | Democratic | 160 | 13985–14144 | 4 | 40 | January 20, 2021 – January 20, 2025 |
47 | Donald Trump – II | Republican | 27 | 14145 and above | 0.03 | 31 | January 20, 2025 – Present |
The current numbering system for executive orders was established by the U.S. State Department in 1907, when all of the orders in the department's archives were assigned chronological numbers. The first executive order to be assigned a number was Executive Order 1, signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862, but hundreds of unnumbered orders had been signed by presidents going back to George Washington. [8]
President | Term | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abraham Lincoln | 1861–1865 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Andrew Johnson | 1865–1869 | 3 | 7 | 5 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 1869–1877 | 8 | 20 | 15 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 1877–1881 | None | None | 0 |
Chester A. Arthur | 1881–1885 | 21 | 23 | 3 |
Works by or about Grover Cleveland's Executive Orders at Wikisource
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1885 | 23-1 | 24 | 2 |
1886 | 25 | 25 | 1 |
1887 | 26 | 27-1 | 3 |
1888 | None | None | 0 |
1889 | None | None | 0 |
Total | 23-1 | 27-1 | 6 |
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1893 | 30 | 31 | 3 |
1894 | 32 | 56 | 25 |
1895 | 57 | 84 | 29 |
1896 | 85 | 93 | 9 |
1897 | 94 | 96 | 3 |
Total | 30 | 96 | 69 |
Works by or about Benjamin Harrison's Executive Orders at Wikisource
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1889 | None | None | 0 |
1890 | 28 | 28 | 1 |
1891 | 28-1 | 28-1 | 1 |
1892 | 28-A | 28-A | 1 |
1893 | 29 | 29 | 1 |
Total | 28 | 29 | 4 |
Works by or about William McKinley's Executive Orders at Wikisource
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1897 | 97 | 103 | 7 |
1898 | 104 | 110 | 10 |
1899 | 111 | 122 | 12 |
1900 | 123 | 134 | 17 |
1901 | 135 | 140 | 6 |
Total | 97 | 140 | 52 |
Works by or about Theodore Roosevelt's Executive Orders at Wikisource
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1901 | 141 | 153 | 13 |
1902 | 154 | 196 | 44 |
1903 | 197 | 242 | 47 |
1904 | 243 | 288 | 47 |
1905 | 289 | 389 | 172 |
1906 | 389-A | 542 | 165 |
1907 | 543 | 723 | 188 |
1908 | 724 | 1000 | 279 |
1909 | 1001 | 1050 | 50 |
Total | 141 | 1050 | 1005 |
Works by or about William Howard Taft's Executive Orders at Wikisource
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1909 | 1051 | 1150 | 100 |
1910 | 1151 | 1277 | 129 |
1911 | 1278 | 1451 | 175 |
1912 | 1452 | 1673 | 221 |
1913 | 1674 | 1743 | 71 |
Total | 1051 | 1743 | 696 |
Works by or about Woodrow Wilson's Executive Orders at Wikisource
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1913 | 1744 | 1875 | 136 |
1914 | 1876 | 2113 | 243 |
1915 | 2114 | 2294 | 188 |
1916 | 2295 | 2502 | 212 |
1917 | 2503 | 2778 | 296 |
1918 | 2779 | 3019-B | 260 |
1919 | 3020 | 3207 | 224 |
1920 | 3208 | 3380 | 174 |
1921 | 3381 | 3415 | 34 |
Total | 1744 | 3415 | 1,767 |
Works by or about Warren G. Harding's Executive Orders at Wikisource
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1921 | 3416 | 3604-A | 191 |
1922 | 3605 | 3770-A | 173 |
1923 | 3771 | 3885 | 118 |
Total | 3416 | 3885 | 482 |
Works by or about Calvin Coolidge's Executive Orders at Wikisource
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1923 | 3885-A | 3940 | 62 |
1924 | 3941 | 4119 | 189 |
1925 | 4120 | 4363-A | 227 |
1926 | 4364 | 4559 | 202 |
1927 | 4560 | 4791 | 240 |
1928 | 4792 | 5018 | 290 |
1929 | 5019 | 5075 | 57 |
Total | 3885-A | 5075 | 1,267 |
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1929 | 5076 | 5255 | 183 |
1930 | 5256 | 5523 | 268 |
1931 | 5524 | 5770 | 249 |
1932 | 5771 | 5984 | 215 |
1933 | 5985 | 6070 | 88 |
Total | 5076 | 6070 | 1,003 |
Administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt Executive Orders Disposition Tables [16]
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1933 | 6071 | 6544 | 569 |
1934 | 6545 | 6935-A | 473 |
1935 | 6936 | 7261-A | 384 |
1936 | 7262 | 7531 | 275 |
1937 | 7532 | 7784 | 257 |
1938 | 7784-A | 8030 | 249 |
1939 | 8031 | 8316 | 287 |
1940 | 8317 | 8624 | 310 |
1941 | 8625 | 9005 | 382 |
1942 | 9006 | 9292 | 290 |
1943 | 9293 | 9412 | 122 |
1944 | 9413 | 9508 | 100 |
1945 | 9509 | 9537 | 29 |
Total | 6071 | 9537 | 3727 |
Administration of Harry S Truman Executive Orders Disposition Tables [17]
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1945 | 9538 | 9672 | 139 |
1946 | 9673 | 9817 | 148 |
1947 | 9818 | 9918 | 100 |
1948 | 9919 | 10025 | 117 |
1949 | 10026 | 10094 | 69 |
1950 | 10095 | 10199 | 95 |
1951 | 10200 | 10317 | 118 |
1952 | 10318 | 10420 | 104 |
1953 | 10421 | 10431 | 11 |
Total | 9538 | 10431 | 907 |
Administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Orders Disposition Tables [18]
EOs 10432–10913
Year | First | Last | Tota |
---|---|---|---|
1953 | 10432 | 10511 | 80 |
1954 | 10512 | 10584 | 75 |
1955 | 10585 | 10649 | 66 |
1956 | 10650 | 10693 | 44 |
1957 | 10694 | 10747 | 55 |
1958 | 10748 | 10797 | 50 |
1959 | 10798 | 10857 | 60 |
1960 | 10858 | 10899 | 42 |
1961 | 10900 | 10913 | 14 |
Total | 10432 | 10913 | 484 |
Administration of John F. Kennedy Executive Orders Disposition Tables [20]
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1961 | 10914 | 10983 | 70 |
1962 | 10984 | 11072 | 89 |
1963 | 11073 | 11127 | 55 |
Total | 10914 | 11127 | 214 |
Administration of Lyndon B. Johnson Executive Orders Disposition Tables [21]
EOs 11128–11451
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1963 | 11128 | 11134 | 7 |
1964 | 11135 | 11190 | 56 |
1965 | 11191 | 11264 | 74 |
1966 | 11265 | 11321 | 58 |
1967 | 11322 | 11386 | 65 |
1968 | 11387 | 11442 | 56 |
1969 | 11443 | 11451 | 9 |
Total | 11128 | 11451 | 325 |
Administration of Richard Nixon Executive Orders Disposition Tables [23]
EOs 11452–11797
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1969 | 11452 | 11503 | 52 |
1970 | 11504 | 11575 | 72 |
1971 | 11576 | 11638 | 63 |
1972 | 11639 | 11693 | 55 |
1973 | 11694 | 11757 | 64 |
1974 | 11758 | 11797 | 39 |
Total | 11452 | 11797 | 346 |
EOs 11798–11966
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | 11798 | 11826 | 29 |
1975 | 11827 | 11893 | 67 |
1976 | 11894 | 11949 | 56 |
1977 | 11950 | 11966 | 17 |
Total | 11798 | 11966 | 169 |
Administration of Jimmy Carter Executive Orders Disposition Tables [26]
EOs 11967–12286
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1977 | 11967 | 12032 | 66 |
1978 | 12033 | 12110 | 78 |
1979 | 12111 | 12187 | 77 |
1980 | 12188 | 12260 | 73 |
1981 | 12261 | 12286 | 26 |
Total | 11967 | 12286 | 320 |
Administration of Ronald Reagan Executive Orders Disposition Tables [27]
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | 12287 | 12336 | 50 |
1982 | 12337 | 12399 | 63 |
1983 | 12400 | 12456 | 57 |
1984 | 12457 | 12497 | 41 |
1985 | 12498 | 12542 | 45 |
1986 | 12543 | 12579 | 37 |
1987 | 12580 | 12622 | 43 |
1988 | 12623 | 12662 | 40 |
1989 | 12663 | 12667 | 5 |
Total | 12287 | 12667 | 381 |
Administration of George Bush Executive Orders Disposition Tables [29]
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | 12668 | 12698 | 31 |
1990 | 12699 | 12741 | 43 |
1991 | 12742 | 12787 | 46 |
1992 | 12788 | 12827 | 40 |
1993 | 12828 | 12833 | 6 |
Total | 12668 | 12833 | 166 |
Administration of William J. Clinton Executive Orders Disposition Tables [30]
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | 12834 | 12890 | 57 |
1994 | 12891 | 12944 | 54 |
1995 | 12945 | 12984 | 40 |
1996 | 12985 | 13033 | 49 |
1997 | 13034 | 13071 | 38 |
1998 | 13072 | 13109 | 38 |
1999 | 13110 | 13144 | 35 |
2000 | 13145 | 13185 | 41 |
2001 | 13186 | 13197 | 12 |
Total | 12834 | 13197 | 364 |
Administration of George W. Bush Executive Orders Disposition Tables [31]
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | 13198 | 13249 | 52 |
2002 | 13250 | 13282 | 33 |
2003 | 13283 | 13323 | 41 |
2004 | 13324 | 13368 | 45 |
2005 | 13369 | 13394 | 26 |
2006 | 13395 | 13421 | 27 |
2007 | 13422 | 13453 | 32 |
2008 | 13454 | 13483 | 30 |
2009 | 13484 | 13488 | 5 |
Total | 13198 | 13488 | 291 |
Administration of Barack Obama Executive Orders Disposition Tables [32]
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | 13489 | 13527 | 39 |
2010 | 13528 | 13562 | 35 |
2011 | 13563 | 13596 | 34 |
2012 | 13597 | 13635 | 39 |
2013 | 13636 | 13655 | 20 |
2014 | 13656 | 13686 | 31 |
2015 | 13687 | 13715 | 29 |
2016 | 13716 | 13757 | 42 |
2017 | 13758 | 13764 | 7 |
Total | 13489 | 13764 | 276 |
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | 13765 | 13819 | 55 |
2018 | 13820 | 13856 | 37 |
2019 | 13857 | 13901 | 45 |
2020 | 13902 | 13969 | 68 |
2021 | 13970 | 13984 | 15 |
Total | 13765 | 13984 | 220 |
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
2025 | 14147 | — | — |
Total | 14147 | — | — |
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | 13985 | 14061 | 77 |
2022 | 14062 | 14090 | 29 |
2023 | 14091 | 14114 | 24 |
2024 | 14115 | 14133 | 19 |
2025 | 14134 | 14146 | 13 |
Total | 13985 | 14146 | 162 |
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the United States Constitution gives presidents broad executive and enforcement authority to use their discretion to determine how to enforce the law or to otherwise manage the resources and staff of the federal government's executive branch. The ability to make such orders is also based on expressed or implied Acts of Congress that delegate to the president some degree of discretionary power. The vast majority of executive orders are proposed by federal agencies before being issued by the president.
The President's Committee on Civil Rights was a United States presidential commission established by President Harry Truman in 1946. The committee was created by Executive Order 9808 on December 5, 1946, and instructed to investigate the status of civil rights in the country and propose measures to strengthen and protect them. The committee submitted the report of its findings, entitled To Secure These Rights, to President Truman in December 1947, and Truman proposed comprehensive civil rights legislation to Congress, and ordered antidiscrimination and desegregation throughout the government and armed forces.
The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. In a symbolic attempt to keep his inaugural promise of "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" and stop the desegregation of schools, George Wallace, the Democratic Governor of Alabama, stood at the door of the auditorium as if to block the way of the two African American students attempting to enter: Vivian Malone and James Hood.
The National Defense Resources Preparedness executive order is an order of the President of the United States, signed by President Barack Obama on March 16, 2012. The purpose of this executive order is to delegate authority and address national defense resource policies and programs under the Defense Production Act of 1950. Executive Order 13603 provides the framework and authority for the allocation or appropriation of resources, materials, and services to promote national defense.
Executive Order 10555, signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on August 23, 1954, established a Seal for the President's Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped.
Executive orders are issued to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage the operations within the federal government itself. Presidential memoranda are closely related, and have the force of law on the Executive Branch, but are generally considered less prestigious. Presidential memoranda do not have an established process for issuance, and unlike executive orders, they are not numbered. A presidential determination is a determination resulting in an official policy or position of the executive branch of the United States government. A presidential proclamation is a statement issued by a president on a matter of public policy issued under specific authority granted to the president by Congress and typically on a matter of widespread interest. Administrative orders are signed documents such as notices, letters, and orders that can be issued to conduct administrative operations of the federal government. A presidential notice or a presidential sequestration order can also be issued. National security directives1 operate like executive orders, but are only in the area of national security. They have been issued by different presidents under various names.
National Archives and Records Administration: