Executive Orders

This passage describes the role of executive orders, which allow presidents to make quick decisions without Congress. Examples include Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, Truman’s desegregation of the military, and Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Executive orders can protect rights or provide aid but also raise concerns when they bypass Congress. The passage gives both positive uses, such as protecting people, and negative ones, like Japanese Internment Camps. It shows that executive orders have shaped U.S. history in powerful ways.

Reading about executive orders improves reading comprehension by showing cause-and-effect relationships in history. Students build vocabulary knowledge with terms like “segregation,” “internment,” and “proclamation.” It enhances analytical skills because they must weigh good and bad examples. These passages encourage students to summarize complex information, strengthening retention. Exposure to historical writing also develops a stronger sense of sentence structure and coherence.