Why Do Government Use Executive Orders?

The president of the United States can issue executive orders to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage the operations in the federal government. Executive orders have the full force of law when given authority from a legislative power. It’s power is also given directly to the Executive by the Constitution or when Acts of Congress delegate some degree of discretionary power, otherwise known as delegated legislation, to the President. Like legislative statutes and regulations given by government agencies, executive orders are subject to judicial review and may be denied if the courts considered it to be unsupported by the Constitution. Additionally, major policy initiatives require approval by the legislative branch. However,
Political scientist Brian R. Dirck explained it best that, “Executive orders are simply presidential directives issued to agents of the executive department by its boss”. There are thousands of executive orders still in practice today. Some include prominent ones such as when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 to more recent orders such as the executive order 13744 issued on October 13, 2016 by President Barack Obama which coordinated efforts to prepare the nation for space weather events. Two other executive orders, signed by presidents FDR and Lynden B Johnson, both offered broader accessibilities in the workforce to minorities both pre and post WW2
More than two years after Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and more than a year after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into legislation, the nation took another historic step towards equal employment opportunity when President Lyndon B. Johnson established requirements for nondiscriminatory practices in hiring and employment from U.S. government contractors. This was done through Executive Order 11246 signed into law on September 24, 1965. This executive order allowed for the supervision of federal contract in compliance with the Secretary of Labor. Additionally, it created the establishment of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. As stated in the order, “It is the policy of the Government of the United States to provide equal opportunity in Federal employment for all qualified persons, to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, creed, color, or national origin, and to promote the full realization of equal employment opportunity through a positive, continuing program in each executive department and agency. The policy of equal opportunity applies to every aspect of Federal employment policy and practice.” Ultimately, the executive order prohibits federal contractors and