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 | 968 | 5075–6070 | 4 | 242.0 | March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933 |
32 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Democratic | 3,728 | 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 | Republican | 220 | 13765–13984 | 4 | 55.0 | January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021 |
46 | Joe Biden | Democratic | 129 | 13985 and above | 3.17 | 39.5 | January 20, 2021 – 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 | 86 |
Total | 5076 | 6070 | 1,001 |
Administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt Executive Orders Disposition Tables [16]
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1933 | 6071 | 6545 | 573 |
1934 | 6546 | 6935 | 474 |
1935 | 6936 | 7261 | 394 |
1936 | 7262 | 7531 | 274 |
1937 | 7532 | 7784 | 253 |
1938 | 7784-A | 8030 | 247 |
1939 | 8031 | 8316 | 287 |
1940 | 8317 | 8624 | 309 |
1941 | 8625 | 9005 | 383 |
1942 | 9066 | 9292 | 289 |
1943 | 9293 | 9412 | 122 |
1944 | 9413 | 9508 | 100 |
1945 | 9509 | 9537 | 29 |
Total | 6071 | 9537 | 3,734 |
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 | 57 |
1967 | 11322 | 11386 | 65 |
1968 | 11387 | 11442 | 56 |
1969 | 11443 | 11451 | 9 |
Total | 11128 | 11451 | 324 |
Administration of Richard Nixon Executive Orders Disposition Tables [22]
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 [25]
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 [26]
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 [28]
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 [29]
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 [30]
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | 13198 | 13251 | 54 |
2002 | 13252 | 13282 | 31 |
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 [31]
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 |
As of January 10,2024 [update] .
Year | First | Last | Total |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | 13985 | 14061 | 77 |
2022 | 14062 | 14090 | 29 |
2023 | 14091 | 14114 | 23 |
2024 | — | — | — |
Total | 13985 | 14114 | 129 |
Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. "This order authorized the forced removal of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to "relocation centers" further inland—resulting in the incarceration of Japanese Americans." Two-thirds of them were U.S. citizens, born and raised in the United States.
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 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.
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Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, to prohibit ethnic or racial discrimination in the nation's defense industry, including in companies, unions, and federal agencies. It also set up the Fair Employment Practice Committee. It was the first federal action, though not a law, to promote equal opportunity and prohibit employment discrimination in the United States. Executive Order 8802 represented the first executive civil rights directive since Reconstruction.
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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.
Executive Order 13087 was signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on May 28, 1998, amending Executive Order 11478 to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the competitive service of the federal civilian workforce. The order also applies to employees of the government of the District of Columbia, and the United States Postal Service. However, it does not apply to positions and agencies in the excepted service, such as the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, in a symbolic attempt to keep his inaugural promise of "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" and stop the desegregation of schools, stood at the door of the auditorium as if to block the entry of two African American students: Vivian Malone and James Hood.
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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.
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A presidential directive, or executive action, is a written or oral instruction or declaration issued by the president of the United States, which may draw upon the powers vested in the president by the U.S. Constitution, statutory law, or, in certain cases, congressional and judicial acquiescence. Such directives, which have been issued since the earliest days of the federal government, have become known by various names, and some have prescribed forms and purposes. Presidential directives remain in effect until they are revoked, which the president is free to do. The classification of presidential directives is not easily done, as the distinction between the types can be quite arbitrary, arising from convenience and bureaucratic evolution, and none are defined in the Constitution. Furthermore, the different types may overlap. As one legal scholar put it: "it is a bit misleading to overclassify presidential directives as comprising separate and distinct 'types' just because they have different headings at the top of the first page." In terms of legal applicability, what matters is the substance of the directive, not the form, unless a certain kind of directive is specifically required by relevant statute.
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