To the President of the United States, the White House Counsel, the Attorney General, and Other Appropriate Executive Branch Officials:
The Question Before the President
Has the Executive Branch fully examined its continuing constitutional responsibilities under the Reconstruction enactments that remain part of the law of the United States?
This submission respectfully asks only that this question be examined.
It does not request an Executive Order, nor new legislation, nor does it request the President to disregard the constitutional role of the Judiciary.
It simply asks whether the Executive Branch has fully examined its continuing responsibilities under Article II to faithfully execute the Reconstruction enactments that remain part of the law of the United States.
If that question has never been fully examined, then such a review is warranted during the Nation’s 250th Anniversary period.
The accompanying documents are respectfully submitted for that purpose.
Why This Submission Is Presented
This submission respectfully presents a constitutional question that, to the author’s knowledge, has never been fully examined by the Executive Branch in light of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Reconstruction Amendments, and the President’s continuing duties under Article II of the Constitution.
It does not presume the answer.
It does not ask the President to disregard the Constitution, Acts of Congress, or the lawful role of the federal judiciary.
Rather, it asks whether the Executive Branch should undertake a careful review of the Nation’s unfinished Reconstruction responsibilities during the historic observance of the United States’ 250th Anniversary.
The Constitutional Question
Did Reconstruction establish continuing federal responsibilities toward the people for whom the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Reconstruction Amendments were originally enacted, and if so, have those responsibilities been fully understood and faithfully executed?
If the answer is yes, the Nation benefits from renewed public understanding of one of the most consequential chapters in American constitutional history.
If the answer is no, then the Executive Branch possesses both the opportunity and the responsibility to determine what lawful measures, if any, remain available under existing constitutional and statutory authority.
Why This Merits Executive Consideration
The preservation of the Union required more than military victory. It required the establishment of a constitutional order capable of securing the freedom, citizenship, and equal civil rights promised through Reconstruction.
The Nation has devoted immense attention to the Civil War itself. Considerably less attention has been given to whether Reconstruction’s constitutional purposes were fully completed or whether important questions remain unresolved.
The enclosed memorandum respectfully presents historical materials, constitutional arguments, statutory analysis, and historical documents for executive consideration. Whether those arguments ultimately persuade is for responsible public officials to determine. The threshold question is whether they deserve careful examination.
Why Now
The period extending from the Sixty-Third Anniversary of the March on Washington through the United States’ 250th Anniversary provides a unique opportunity for thoughtful national reflection upon the Constitution, Reconstruction, and the enduring preservation of the Union.
The accompanying Reconstruction Action Calendar is offered solely as an organizational guide to those constitutional and historical milestones.
It is intended to assist—not replace—the accompanying memorandum.
Respectfully Requested
No immediate legal conclusion is requested. No legislation is requested. No executive order is requested.
At this stage, only one action is respectfully requested:
That the President direct an appropriate constitutional and historical review of the questions presented, together with such recommendations as the Executive Branch determines appropriate under existing law.
Should that review conclude that Reconstruction’s constitutional responsibilities have been faithfully fulfilled, the Nation will benefit from the clarity.
Should it conclude that unfinished responsibilities remain, the Nation will have an opportunity to address them through lawful constitutional means during one of the most significant anniversaries in its history.
Respectfully submitted,
Ted Hayes
Mr. Citizen Patriot