4min 47sec @TEDEd - How do executive orders work? Christina Greer

Text from youtube 

"On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln legally changed the status of over 3 million people from “slave” to “free.” But his emancipation proclamation wasn’t a law — it was an executive order. The framers of the American Constitution made this power available to the executive branch. But what exactly is this tool, how does it work, and what’s the extent of its power? Christina Greer explains. Lesson by Christina Greer, animation by Brett Underhill.