B6 | Sunday, January 17, 2021 NEWS CASPER STAR-TRIBUNE

QUIZ A quiz about executive orders you’ve probably heard about them for years. But just how much do you really know about presidential executive orders? Take this short, easy quiz and find out: 1. A presidential requires what to become official: a. approval from Congress B. a referendum by american voters C. The approval of all living former presidents d. nothing 2. Which president issued the most executive orders: a. George Washington C. Franklin roosevelt B. Theodore roosevelt d. Lyndon Johnson 3. Only one president didn’t issue an executive order. (He died before he could do so.) That president was: a. William Henry Harrison C. Warren Harding B. abraham Lincoln d. John Kennedy 4. The first executive order was issued by: a. George Washington C. Millard Fillmore B. Thomas Jefferson d. Grover Cleveland 5. Authority to issue executive orders is granted to the president by: ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO a. a vote of Congress March 26, 1942: President Franklin d. roosevelt signs an executive order authorizing financing of war contracts through B. The Bill of rights guaranteed loans at the White House in Washington. Standing behind roosevelt are, from left, Sen. James E. Murray, C. article II of the u.S. Constitution d-Mont.; Sen. arthur Capper, r-Kan.; Sen. James M. Mead, d-n.y.; assistant Secretary of War robert P. Patterson; under d. The declaration of Independence Secretary of navy James V. Forbes and rear admiral Emory S. Land, u.S. Wartime Commission.

A powerful presidential tool FDR’s favorite weapon Incoming President Joe Biden loves the legislative process. After all, he served in the Senate for 36 years, then presided J. MARK POWELL over it for another eight as vice president. And Biden has made InsideSources.com the time his casket was carried out of to turn over bullion and coins the White House in 1945, World War to the Treasury Department. It was it clear that he hopes for a more bipartisan Washington, where t should come as no surprise that II was winding down. viewed at the time by many as bold compromises can be reached and legislation passed. the president who held the job the Between battling an anemic econ- and decisive action. But given the narrow Democratic House majority and the I longest was also the president who omy at home and fascists abroad, But there was also Executive Order current, contentious nature of the Senate, Biden’s not about issued the most executive orders. FDR had his hands full. 9102, which set in motion the cre- to set aside the power of “the phone and the pen” — Pres- Those orders are a major piece of While Congress was controlled ation of internment camps for Jap- ident Barack Obama’s phrase for the presidential power of presidential power, and Franklin D. by fellow Democrats, there were a anese-Americans. Signed March 18, executive orders. Roosevelt wasn’t shy about using good many conservatives among 1942, it led to the relocation of some These orders don’t require congressional approval and can them. them who resisted Roosevelt’s New 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry be difficult for legislators to overturn. And Biden has already A total of 3,721 times during his re- Deal and foreign policy plans. So during World War II and is now con- indicated he’s willing to use that power as president. He’s cord 12 years as chief executive, Roo- when Congress was reluctant to act, sidered a dark blemish on Roosevelt’s expected to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World sevelt picked up his pen and signed a Roosevelt was happy to issue an ex- presidential record. Health Organization and to overturn the travel ban Presi- directive spelling out what he wanted ecutive order instead. Some of his In between those two extremes dent Donald Trump put in place covering six nations linked the federal government to do or not moves were solid and received praise. were 3,719 other orders. They are to terrorism. do. No other president, Democrat or Others have fared poorly in the harsh fascinating to read now, nearly 90 Biden is also expected to return to Obama’s policy on De- Republican, even comes close to that light of historical examination. years after they were issued. The ferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which Trump number. Consider Executive Order 6102, documents reveal a president who attempted to reverse with his own executive action. And Then again, Roosevelt was presi- which forbade Americans from was willing to make generous use Biden could lift the ban on transgender people serving openly dent during some of the most trying hoarding gold. Doing so slowed of executive orders to do what he in the U.S. military. periods in American history. He en- economic growth and kept the De- thought would protect his country Biden may be sincere when he urges bipartisan compro- tered the White House in 1933 at the pression dragging on. Signed April from all threats, both foreign and mise, but don’t expect him to abandon executive power. depths of the . By 5, 1933, Americans were required domestic. — J. Mark Powell, InsideSources.com

About this series: “Good Government in 2021” is a monthly series exploring specific aspects of government, how they were envisioned to work and how they work — or don’t — today. The content is provided by InsideSources.com in an exclusive partnership with Lee Enterprises. InsideSources.com is a leading provider of in-depth reporting and opinion content for newspapers nationwide.

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