Executive Orders

This resource is an Inquiry Pack to accompany the Presidential Powers Timeline on LegalTimelines.org, which explores the shifting powers of the chief executive throughout American history.

Built around primary sources from the Library of Congress and other collections, this Inquiry Pack facilitates a deep dive into an important aspect of the history of suffrage and voting rights in the United States.

Each Inquiry Pack includes a background reading, several primary sources (documents, articles, images), discussion questions about the sources, an inquiry question, and an inquiry extension question.

This pack includes the following components:

• Introduction: Executive Orders
• The First Executive Order by President Washington
• Suspension of Habeas Corpus by President Lincoln
• Internment of Japanese Americans by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Enforcing Desegregation of Public Schools by President Eisenhower
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by President Obama
• Travel Restrictions by President Trump
• Inquiry Question: Under what circumstances should presidents be able to use executive orders to avoid the need for congressional approval?
• Inquiry Extension Question: Does the president have too much law-making power through the use of executive orders, causing an imbalance of power in the federal government?
• Inquiry Question Graphic Organizer