ABSTRACT

In the final decade of the twentieth century, how does America go to war? Our eighteenth-century founders decreed that such decisions be made jointly by the president, who is commander-in-chief of the military forces, and Congress, the people’s elected representatives. Thus, in the Constitution, while the president commands the resources to make war, only Congress can “declare” war. In the eighteenth century, wars were the playgrounds of kings, often fought by mercenaries hired in foreign lands. After Napoleon, serious wars engaged entire national populations, and two of them involved most of the world. Congress has declared war five times in U.S. history; American forces have fought in several hundred conflicts—ranging from a raid on the Barbary pirates to the Korean “police action”—without the benefit of a declaration by Congress, which nevertheless continued to pay the bills.