Declaration of war by the United States

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A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation, and one or more others. For the United States, Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution says "Congress shall have the power to ... declare War," however, that passage provides no specific format for what form legislation text must have to be considered a "Declaration of War" nor does the Constitution itself use this term. Many have postulated "Declaration(s) of War" must contain that phrase as or within the title. Many oppose that reasoning. The postulate has not been tested in court, however, this article will use the term "formal Declaration of War" to mean Congressional legislation that uses the phrase "Declaration of War" in the title.

Despite the constitutional requirement that Congress declare war, in practice, formal Declarations of War have occurred only upon prior request by the President.

After World War II, Congress voluntarily limited its use of the power to declare war to issuing authorizations of force. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 (Pub.L. 93-148) limits the power of the President to wage war without the approval of the Congress. The United States has formally declared war against foreign nations eleven separate times.

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[edit] Formal declarations of war

The table below gives the eleven separate times that the United States has formally declared war against foreign nations. The only country against which the United States has declared war more than once is Germany, against which the United States has declared war twice (though a case could be made for Hungary as a successor state to Austria-Hungary). Each time the declaration was requested by the President either in writing or in person before a joint session of Congress.

In World War Two, the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbour on the previous day, the 7th December. On the 11th, Hitler and Mussolini had already declared war on the USA before Congress declared war on them. [1] [2]

War Opponent Declaration date ? Vote President Peace Treaty
Senate House
War of 1812 United Kingdom June 18, 1812 19-13 79-49 Madison Treaty of Ghent (December 24, 1814)
Mexican-American War Mexico May 11, 1846 40-2 174-14 Polk Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848)
Spanish-American War Spain April 24, 1898 42-35 310-6 McKinley Treaty of Paris (December 10, 1898)
World War I Germany April 4 & April 6, 1917 82-6 373-50 Wilson Treaty of Berlin (August 25, 1921)
Austria-Hungary December 7, 1917 74-0 365-1 Treaty of Trianon (in part)
World War II Japan December 8, 1941 82-0 388-1 F. Roosevelt, Truman San Francisco Peace Treaty (September 8, 1951)
Germany December 11, 1941 88-0 393-0 Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany, Treaty of Vienna with Austria
Italy 90-0 399-0 Paris Peace Treaty (February 10, 1947)
Bulgaria June 5, 1942 73-0 357-0
Hungary 360-0
Romania 361-0

[edit] Military engagements authorized by Congress

Many times, the United States has engaged in extended military engagements that, while not formally declared wars, were explicitly authorized by Congress, short of a formal declaration of war.

War or conflict Opponent(s) Initial authorization Votes President Conclusion
Senate House
Quasi-War France 1798 J. Adams Convention of 1800 (Treaty of Mortefontaine)
First Barbary War Barbary States 1801 Jefferson
Second Barbary War Barbary States 1815 Madison
Raid of slave traffic Africa 1820
Redress for attack on U.S. Navy vessel Paraguay 1859 Buchanan
Intervention during the Russian Civil War Bolshevist Russia 1918 Wilson
Protection of Lebanon Rebels 1958 Eisenhower
Vietnam War National Liberation Front, later Democratic Republic of Vietnam Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, August 7, 1964 88-2 416-0 Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon Peace agreement signed in Paris, January 1973
Multinational Force in Lebanon Shia and Druze miltias; Syria September 29, 1983 54-46 253-156 Reagan Force withdrew in 1984
Invasion of Panama, also known as Operation Just Cause Panama Defense Force December 20, 1989 George H.W. Bush Manuel Noriega deposed
Persian Gulf War, also known as Operation Desert Storm Iraq January 12, 1991 52-47 250-183 The United Nations Security Council drew up terms for the cease-fire, April 3, 1991
2001 war in Afghanistan, also known as Operation Enduring Freedom Taliban government of Afghanistan and
al-Qaida		 S.J. Res. 23
September 18, 2001		 98-0 420-1 George W. Bush Ongoing
Iraq War, also known as Operation Iraqi Freedom Iraq H.J. Res. 114,
October 16, 2002		 77-23 296-133 Ongoing

[edit] United Nations resolutions

The Korean War was not a war authorized by the U.S. Congress. President Harry S. Truman cited authority under United Nations resolutions. Major US Military involvement began with Task Force Smith on July 5, 1950. A cease fire agreement was signed on July 27, 1953; however no formal treaty has been signed to this date.

[edit] Other undeclared wars

There are many undeclared "wars" missing from this list. The United States fought in Korea in 1870 and in Nicaragua in 1927.

The United States's longest war was fought between approximately 1840 and 1886 against the Apache Nation. During that entire 46-year period, there were never more than 90 days of "peace."

[edit] The War Powers Resolution

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Please see the discussion on the talk page.

In 1973, following the withdrawal of most American troops from the Vietnam War, a debate emerged about the extent of presidential power in deploying troops without a declaration of war. A compromise in the debate was reached with the War Powers Resolution. This act clearly defined how many soldiers could be deployed by the President of the United States and for how long. It also required formal reports by the President to Congress regarding the status of such deployments, and limited the total amount of time that American forces could be employed without a formal declaration of war.

Although the constitutionality of the act has never been tested, it has been followed, most notably during the Grenada Conflict, the Panamanian Conflict, the Somalia Conflict, the Gulf War, and the Iraq War. In each case, the President asserted the constitutional authority to commit troops without the necessity of Congressional approval, but in each case the President received Congressional authorization that satisfied the provisions of the War Powers Act.

[edit] Controversy regarding U.S. declarations of war

Those who oppose waging war without declaration point to Article I of the Constitution, which reads The Congress shall have the power to declare war.

In the case of smaller conflicts not requiring large commitments of manpower and money, many Americans believe that precedents have already been set for acting without the need for declarations of war. In the case of major conflicts, however, debate is centered around the aforesaid words of the United States Constitution.

Those who believe that formal declarations of war are not necessary, argue that since the Constitution expressly prohibits the states from engaging in war without consent of Congress unless actually invaded or in imminent danger, that if a similar prohibition had been intended for the President, then such words would have also been written to effect it. They also point to the military connotations of the phrases engaging in war (used in the aforesaid prohibition) and levying war (used in the definition of treason) as opposed to the diplomatic connotations of the phrase declare war. Further historical arguments point to the decisions to not issue a formal declaration of war preceding either the Civil War or the Revolutionary War, the latter decision being made by a Continental Congress comprising a number of those who went on to write the Constitution. Moreover, the term "Declaration of War" is not, in fact, mentioned by the US Constitution. Instead the Constitution says "Congress shall have the power to ... declare War, ..." without defining the form such declarations will take. Therefore, many have argued congressionally passed authorizations to use military force are "Declarations of War."

There are also diplomatic reasons for a dislike of "declaring war" on a country, as it can often be perceived as holding an entire nation responsible for the actions of a few of its citizens. In the case of the most recent public opposition, those who support such actions have noted that, in the case of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, there was no 'target' for a legal declaration of war, rather political groups or individuals. On the other hand, many argue that since an invading army seeks to, or at least actually does, occupy and cause havoc to an entire target country and its population (as opposed to the target political groups or individuals), the aforementioned justifications are tenuous at best.

Many against formal declarations of war also argue that such declarations "acknowledge sovereignty" of a target government often contended by the United States to be an illegitimate regime. By declaring war, the United States must acknowledge diplomatically that the target of hostilities are, in fact, the recognized leaders of the country with which the war is declared, therefore often weakening the argument for "liberating" a people of the said country from a tyrannical or illegitimate regime. However, the historical record disagrees somewhat on this point. The Barbary Coast War was clearly waged against a political entity not regarded as the legitimate government of its nation of operation; the Border War, quietly declared as it was, was waged against a single person, Pancho Villa. Needless to say, in both instances many hundreds if not thousands of people belonging to neither a political entity or being Pancho Villa also died in the event. Furthermore, it is sometimes argued that there is nothing particularly wrong with acknowledging diplomatically that a target government is actually in power, be it through legitimate means or not.

[edit] Current status of the U.S. debate

Extremely heated debate developed in the United States beginning on or around September 11, 2001. Opponents of the uses of military force since began to argue, chiefly, that the Iraq War was unconstitutional, because it lacked a clear declaration of war, and was waged over the objection of a significantly sized demographic in the United States.

Instead of formal war declarations, the United States Congress has begun issuing authorizations of force. Such authorizations have included the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that greatly increased American participation in the Vietnam War, and the recent "Authorization of the Use of Military Force" (AUMF) resolution that started the War in Iraq. Some question the legality of these authorizations of force. Many who support declarations of war argue that they keep administrations honest by forcing them to lay out their case to the American people while, at the same time, honoring the constitutional role of the United States Congress.

Those who oppose requiring formal declarations of war argue that AUMFs satisfy constitutional requirements and have an established historical precedent (see Quasi-War). Furthermore, some have argued that the constitutional powers of the president as commander-in-chief invest him with broad powers specific to "waging" and "commencing" war.

The February 6, 2006 testimony of Alberto Gonzales to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Wartime Executive Power and the National Security Agency's Surveillance Authority, however indicates otherwise:

GONZALES: There was not a war declaration, either in connection with Al Qaida or in Iraq. It was an authorization to use military force. I only want to clarify that, because there are implications. Obviously, when you talk about a war declaration, you're possibly talking about affecting treaties, diplomatic relations. And so there is a distinction in law and in practice. And we're not talking about a war declaration. This is an authorization only to use military force.

The courts have consistently refused to intervene in this matter, and in practice presidents have the power to commit forces with congressional approval but without a declaration of war.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ BBC News, On This Day
  2. ^ Whereas the Government of Germany has formally declared war against the government and the people of the United States of America... the state of war between the United States and the Government of Germany which has thus been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared. The War Resolution

[edit] External links

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