The constitutional question presented by this memorandum is not what previous generations did or failed to do. It is what responsibilities presently belong to the Office of the President.
Article II does not require the President to preserve only those portions of the Constitution that are free from controversy. It requires him to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution in its entirety and to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.
Where substantial constitutional questions remain concerning the execution of existing Reconstruction law, the Executive Branch possesses both the authority and the responsibility to conduct an appropriate legal and historical review.
Accordingly, this memorandum respectfully recommends that the President direct the White House Counsel, the Attorney General, and other appropriate executive officials to examine:
- The continuing executive responsibilities arising under the Reconstruction enactments.
- The present administrative authorities available under existing federal law.
- Whether any constitutional or statutory duties remain unfulfilled.
- Whether lawful executive measures are appropriate to ensure faithful execution of those duties.
This recommendation does not presume the outcome of that review. It asks only that the Executive Branch undertake the examination that the President’s constitutional oath requires.
If that review determines that existing Reconstruction law continues to impose executive responsibilities, those responsibilities should be carried out according to the Constitution and within the lawful authority of the Executive Branch.
The purpose of this memorandum is therefore neither to reopen the Civil War nor to revisit settled litigation. It is to encourage the Executive Branch to examine whether the constitutional work begun during Reconstruction has been fully discharged, or whether existing law still calls upon the President to act.
Completing the unfinished work of Reconstruction, where existing law so requires, is not an act of political preference. It is an act of constitutional fidelity—one undertaken not for the benefit of a single class of Americans, but for the preservation of the constitutional order and the enduring strength of the Republic.