congress has the power to declare war in the united states.
congress has the power to declare war in the united states.
who has power to declare war in the united states?
congress
the constitution vests the president with executive power. that power reaches its zenith when wielded to protect national security. and federal courts in the united states must pay proper deference to the executive in assessing the threats that face the nation. the president is the military's commander-in-chief; however article one gives congress and not the president the exclusive right to declare war. nevertheless, the power of the president to initiate hostilities has been subject to question. according to historian thomas woods, "ever since the korean war, article ii, section 2 [...] has been interpreted 'the president has the power to initiate hostilities without consulting congress' [...] but what the framers actually meant by that clause was that once war has been declared, it was the president’s responsibility as commander-in-chief to direct the war. alexander hamilton spoke in such terms when he said that the president, although lacking the power to declare war, would have "the direction of war when authorized or begun." the president acting alone was authorized only to repel sudden attacks (hence the decision to withhold from him only the power to "declare" war, not to "make" war, which was thought to be a necessary emergency power in case of foreign attack). since world war ii, every major military action has been technically a u.s. military operation or a u.n. "police action", which are deemed legally legitimate by congress, and various united nations resolutions because of decisions such as the gulf of tonkin resolution or the resolution of the congress providing authorization for use of force in iraq.
article two of the united states constitution
bullet::::- "categorical theory", under which the power to declare war includes "the power to control all decisions to enter war". this means that the power to 'declare war' in effect rests with the ability to engage in combat.









































bullet::::- "pragmatic theory", which states that the power to declare war can be made unnecessary by an act of war in itself.









































bullet::::- "formalist theory", under which the power to declare war constitutes only a formal documentation of executive war-making decisions. this sits closest to traditional legal conceptions of what it is to declare a war.









































section::::history.
declaration of war