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Declaration of war by the United States

Overview

A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government

Government

A government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....

indicating that a state of war

War

War is a reciprocated, armed conflict, between two or more non-congruous entities, aimed at reorganising a subjectively designed, geo-politically desired result...

exists between that nation and another. For the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution says "Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....

shall have power to ... declare War;" however, that passage provides no specific format for what form legislation

Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it. The term may refer to a single law, or the collective body of enacted law, while "statute" is also used to refer to a single law...

text must have to be considered a "Declaration of War

Declaration of war

A declaration of war is a formal performative speech act or signing of a document by an authorized party of a government in order to initiate a state of war between two or more nations. The legality of who can declare war varies between nations and forms of government. In many nations power is...

" nor does the Constitution itself use this term.

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Encyclopedia

A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government

Government

A government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....

indicating that a state of war

War

War is a reciprocated, armed conflict, between two or more non-congruous entities, aimed at reorganising a subjectively designed, geo-politically desired result...

exists between that nation and another. For the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution says "Congress

United States Congress

shall have power to ... declare War;" however, that passage provides no specific format for what form legislation

Legislation

text must have to be considered a "Declaration of War

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 declares war, in practice, formal Declarations of War have occurred only upon prior request by the President

President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...

. And contrary to the popular opinion that the framers of the Constitution

Founding Fathers of the United States

The Founding Fathers of the United States were the political leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or otherwise took part in the American Revolution in winning American independence from Great Britain, or who participated in framing and adopting the United States Constitution...

intended that the President cannot engage in war without an act of Congress, in fact the framers chose the final wording with the intent of "leaving to the Executive the power to repel sudden attacks" without the explicit approval of Congress. However, debate continues as to the legal extent of the President's authority in this regard.
The War Powers Resolution of 1973

War Powers Resolution

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 was a United States Congress joint resolution providing that the President can send U.S. armed forces into action abroad only by authorization of Congress or if the United States is already under attack or serious threat...

limits the power of the President to wage war without the approval of the Congress. The United States of America has formally declared war against foreign nations five separate times.

Formal

The table below gives the only five wars in which 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

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...

, against which the United States has declared war twice (though a case could be made for Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...

as a successor state to Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...

).

In World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Japanese navy against the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941 , later resulting in the United...

on the previous day, Hitler and Mussolini declared war on America and the U.S. Congress responded in kind.

War or conflict	Opponent(s)	Initial authorization	Votes		President	Conclusion
War or conflict	Opponent(s)	Initial authorization	Senate United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...	House United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...	President	Conclusion
War of 1812 War of 1812 The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...	United Kingdom	June 18, 1812	19-13	79-49	Madison James Madison James Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the fourth President of the United States , and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....	Treaty of Ghent Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent , signed on December 24, 1814, in Ghent, Netherlands , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The treaty largely restored relations between the two countries to status quo ante... (December 24, 1814)
Mexican-American War	Mexico	May 11, 1846	40-2	173-14	Polk	Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico, that ended the Mexican-American War... (February 2, 1848)
Spanish-American War Spanish-American War The Spanish–American War was an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898, over the issues of the liberation of Cuba. The war began after American demands for the resolution of the Cuban fight for independence were rejected by Spain...	Spain	April 24, 1898	42-35	310-6	McKinley William McKinley William McKinley Jr. was the 25th President of the United States, and the last veteran of the American Civil War to be elected to the office....	Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris (1898) The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed on December 10, 1898, and ended the Spanish-American War.-Background:Article V of a peace protocol entered into between United States and Spain on August 12, 1898 read as follows:... (December 10, 1898)
World War I World War I World War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...	German Empire	April 6, 1917	82-6	373-50	Wilson Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. A leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...	Treaty of Berlin (August 25, 1921)
	Austria-Hungary	December 7, 1917	74-0	365-1		Treaty of Trianon Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon was the peace treaty concluded in 1920 at the end of World War I by the Allies of World War I, on one side, and Hungary, seen as a successor of Austria-Hungary, on the other. The treaty established the borders of Hungary and regulated its international situation... (in part)
World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...	Empire of Japan	December 8, 1941	82-0	388-1	Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war... , Truman	Treaty of San Francisco Treaty of San Francisco The Treaty of Peace with Japan , between the Allied Powers and Japan, was officially signed by 49 nations on September 8, 1951 in San Francisco, California... (September 8, 1951)
	Nazi Germany	December 11, 1941	88-0	393-0		Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany was negotiated in 1990 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic , and the Four Powers which occupied Germany at the end of World War II in Europe: France, the United Kingdom, the United States of... (September 12, 1990), Treaty of Vienna with Austria (May 15, 1955)
	Italy	December 11, 1941	90-0	399-0		Paris Peace Treaty Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 The Paris Peace Conference resulted in the Paris Peace Treaties signed on February 10, 1947. The victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of treaties with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland .The treaties allowed Italy,... (February 10, 1947)
	Bulgaria	June 5, 1942	73-0	357-0
	Hungary			360-0
	Romania			361-0

Military engagements authorized by Congress

In twelve instances, the United States has engaged in extended military engagements that were explicitly authorized by Congress, short of a formal declaration of war.

War or conflict	Opponent(s)	Initial authorization	Votes		President	Conclusion
War or conflict	Opponent(s)	Initial authorization	Senate United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...	House United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...	President	Conclusion
Quasi-War Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought almost entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Undeclared War with France, the Undeclared Naval War, the Pirate Wars, or the...	France	Act Further to Protect the Commerce of the United States Act Further to Protect the Commerce of the United States The Act Further to Protect the Commerce of the United States, is an act of Congress approved July 9, 1798, authorizing the President of the United States to use military force in the Quasi-War with France.Section one says:... July 9, 1798			J. Adams John Adams John Adams was an American politician and the second President of the United States , after being the first Vice President for two terms. He is regarded as one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States.Adams came to prominence in the early stages of the American Revolution...	Convention of 1800 (Treaty of Mortefontaine) Convention of 1800 (Treaty of Mortefontaine) The Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine, was a meeting between the United States of America and France to settle the hostilities that had erupted during the Quasi-War...
First Barbary War First Barbary War The First Barbary War , also known as the Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitan War, was the first of two wars fought between the United States of America and the North African states known collectively as the Barbary States...	Barbary States	1801			Jefferson Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
Second Barbary War Second Barbary War The Second Barbary War was the second of two wars fought between the United States and the Ottoman Empire's North African regencies of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis, known collectively as the Barbary States...	Barbary States				Madison James Madison James Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the fourth President of the United States , and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....
Raid of slave traffic	Africa Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
Redress for attack on U.S. Navy vessel	Paraguay				Buchanan James Buchanan James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States from 1857–1861 and the last to be born in the 18th century...
Intervention during the Russian Civil War Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed and the Soviets under the domination of the Bolshevik party assumed power, first in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a multi-party war that...	Russian SFSR				Wilson Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. A leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
Lebanon crisis of 1958 Lebanon crisis of 1958 The 1958 Lebanon crisis was a Lebanese political crisis caused by political and religious tensions in the country. It included a U.S. military intervention, leading to the easing of tensions.-Background:...	Lebanon				Eisenhower
Vietnam War Vietnam War The Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...	Viet Cong North Vietnam	Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Gulf of Tonkin Resolution The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was a joint resolution of the United States Congress passed on August 7, 1964 in response to two alleged minor naval skirmishes off the coast of North Vietnam between U.S. destroyers and Vietnamese torpedo ships from the North, known collectively as the Gulf of Tonkin... , August 7, 1964	88-2	416-0	Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....	American Force withdrew in 1975.
Multinational Force in Lebanon Multinational Force in Lebanon The Multinational Force in Lebanon was an international peacekeeping force created in 1982 and sent to Lebanon to oversee the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization...	Shia and Druze Druze The Druze are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, whose traditional religion is said to have begun as an offshoot of Islam, but is unique in its incorporation of Gnostic, neo-Platonic and other philosophies, similar to other followers of Ismaili Shi'a... miltias; Syria Syria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....	S.J.R. 159 September 29, 1983	54-46	253-156	Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...	Force withdrew in 1984
Persian Gulf War Gulf War The Persian Gulf War , known also as the Gulf War, the First Gulf War,or often as the Second Gulf War and by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as The Mother of all Battles, or commonly as Desert Storm, for the military response... , also known as Operation Desert Storm	Iraq	H.R.J. Res. 77 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 1991 The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution or Joint Resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 , was the United States Congress's January 12, 1991 authorization of the use of U.S. military force... January 12, 1991	52-47	250-183	G. H. W. Bush George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st President of the United States . He was also Ronald Reagan's Vice President , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence....	The United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of... drew up terms for the cease-fire, April 3, 1991
2001 war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan (2001–present) The War in Afghanistan is an ongoing coalition conflict which began on October 7, 2001, as the British military participated in the US military's Operation Enduring Freedom that was launched in response to the September 11 attacks... , also known as Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom is the official name used by the U.S. Government for its War in Afghanistan and Iraq, together with three smaller military actions, under the umbrella of its Global War on Terror...	Afghanistan al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda , alternatively spelled al-Qaida and sometimes al-Qa'ida, is an Islamist group founded sometime between August 1988 and late 1989 and early 1990...	S.J. Res. 23 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists , one of two resolutions commonly known as "AUMF" , was a joint resolution passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 2001, authorizing the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the attacks on... September 14, 2001	98-0	420-1	G. W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.... , Obama Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...	Ongoing
Iraq War Iraq War The Iraq War, also known as the Occupation of Iraq or Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States and the United Kingdom.Prior to the war, the governments of the United... , also known as Operation Iraqi Freedom	Iraq	H.J. Res. 114, October 16, 2002	77-23	296-133		Ongoing

Military engagements authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolutions

In many instances, the United States has engaged in extended military engagements that were authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

Military Engagement	Opponent(s)	Initial Authorization	President	Conclusion
Korean War Korean War The Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...	North Korea	UNSCR 84 United Nations Security Council Resolution 84 The United Nations Security Council Resolution 84 was adopted on July 7 1950. Having determined that the attack on the Republic of Korea by the forces from North Korea constituted a breach of the peace, The Council recommended that the members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the... , 1950	Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...	Armistice Armistice An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace... , 1953
Multinational Force in Lebanon Multinational Force in Lebanon The Multinational Force in Lebanon was an international peacekeeping force created in 1982 and sent to Lebanon to oversee the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization...	Shia militia, Druze Druze The Druze are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, whose traditional religion is said to have begun as an offshoot of Islam, but is unique in its incorporation of Gnostic, neo-Platonic and other philosophies, similar to other followers of Ismaili Shi'a... miltia, Syria Syria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....	UNSCR 425 United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 On March 19, 1978, five days after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 called on Israel to withdraw immediately its forces from Lebanon and established the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon .... , 1978 UNSCR 426, 1978	Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s... (US participation)	US forces withdrew in 1984
Persian Gulf War Gulf War The Persian Gulf War , known also as the Gulf War, the First Gulf War,or often as the Second Gulf War and by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as The Mother of all Battles, or commonly as Desert Storm, for the military response... , also known as Operation Desert Storm	Iraq	UNSCR 600, 1990 UNSCR 678 United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 was the legal authorization for the Gulf War which was passed by the Security Council by 12 votes to 2 on 29 November 1990... , 1990	George H. W. Bush George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st President of the United States . He was also Ronald Reagan's Vice President , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence....	UNSCR 689, 1991
Bosnian War Bosnian War The Bosnian War, also known as the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was an international armed conflict that took place between March 1992 and November 1995. The war involved several sides... also known as UNPROFOR	Croatia Serbia	UNSCR 770, 1992 UNSCR 776, 1992 UNSCR 836, 1993	William Jefferson Clinton	Reflagged as IFOR IFOR The Implementation Force was a NATO-led multinational force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename Operation Joint Endeavour to implement the military Annexes of The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and... in 1995, Reflagged is SFOR SFOR The Stabilisation Force was a NATO-led multinational force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement.... in 1996, Completed in 2004
2001 war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan (2001–present) The War in Afghanistan is an ongoing coalition conflict which began on October 7, 2001, as the British military participated in the US military's Operation Enduring Freedom that was launched in response to the September 11 attacks... , also known as Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom is the official name used by the U.S. Government for its War in Afghanistan and Iraq, together with three smaller military actions, under the umbrella of its Global War on Terror...	Afghanistan al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda , alternatively spelled al-Qaida and sometimes al-Qa'ida, is an Islamist group founded sometime between August 1988 and late 1989 and early 1990...	UNSCR 1368, 2001 UNSCR 1378, 2001	George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.... Barack Obama Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...	Ongoing
Second Liberian Civil War Second Liberian Civil War The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighbouring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy , emerged in northern Liberia...	Peacekeeping Peacekeeping Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is "a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace." It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....	UNSCR 1497, 2003	George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....	US Forces withdraw in 2003 after UNMIL is established
Haiti, also known as MINUSTAH United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti The United Nations Stabilization Mission In Haiti , also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of the French translation, is a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti that has been in operation since 2004. The mission's military component is led by the Brazilian Army. The force commander is Brazilian....	Peacekeeping Peacekeeping Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is "a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace." It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....	UNSCR 1529, 2004 UNSCR 1542, 2004	George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....	2004

Other undeclared wars

On at least 125 occasions, the President has acted without prior express military authorization from Congress. These include instances in which the United States fought in Korea

Korean War

The Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...

in 1950, the Philippine-American War

Philippine-American War

The Philippine–American War, sometimes known as the Philippine War of Independence was an armed military conflict between the Philippines and the United States, which arose from the struggle of the insurgent First Philippine Republic against United States annexation of the islands...

from 1898-1903, and in Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km². The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...

in 1927.

The United States' longest war was fought between approximately 1840 and 1886 against the Apache

Apache

Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the American Southwest. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, and are related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

Nation. During that entire 46-year period, there were never more than 90 days of "peace."

The Indian Wars

Indian Wars

Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between the colonial or federal government and the native people of North America....

comprise at least 28 conflicts and engagements. These began with Europeans immigration to North America, long before the establishment of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. For the purpose of this discussion, the Indian Wars are defined as conflicts with the United States of America. They begin as one front in the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also sometimes known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen united former British colonies in North America, and concluded in a global war between several European great powers...

in 1775 and are generally agreed upon as concluding with the surrender of the Apache chief Geronimo

Geronimo

Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader and medicine man of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States and their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades.-Biography:Goyahkla was...

in 1886.

The American Civil War was not a true war in the sense that the Union Government held the position that secession from the Union was illegal and military force was used to restore the union by defeating in battle the military forces of the illegally rebelling states. No Southern ambassador or diplomat was accorded any status by the Union so an armistice or peace treaty was never an option because that would legitimize the Confederacy as an actual Nation. The legal right for armed force lay with the Constitution of the United States, which the Union interpreted as unbreakable. The actions of the Southern states were therefore illegal (according to the Union) because they were attempting to drop the Union as their form of Government, which is considered rebellion or insurrection.

The War Powers Resolution

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

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 is usually followed, most notably during the Grenada Conflict

Invasion of Grenada

The Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, was an invasion ordered by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on the nation of Grenada, an island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela, and over southeast of the United States...

, the Panamanian Conflict, the Somalia Conflict, the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , known also as the Gulf War, the First Gulf War,or often as the Second Gulf War and by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as The Mother of all Battles, or commonly as Desert Storm, for the military response...

, and the Iraq War

Iraq War

The Iraq War, also known as the Occupation of Iraq or Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States and the United Kingdom.Prior to the war, the governments of the United...

. The only exception was President Clinton's use of U.S. troops in the 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...

during the Kosovo War. In all other cases, 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.

Current status of the U.S. debate

Extremely heated debate developed in the United States beginning after the September 11 attacks in 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

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was a joint resolution of the United States Congress passed on August 7, 1964 in response to two alleged minor naval skirmishes off the coast of North Vietnam between U.S. destroyers and Vietnamese torpedo ships from the North, known collectively as the Gulf of Tonkin...

that greatly increased American participation in the Vietnam War, and the recent "Authorization of the Use of Military Force

Iraq Resolution

The Iraq Resolution or the Iraq War Resolution is a joint resolution passed by the United States Congress in October 2002 as Public Law No: 107-243, authorizing the Iraq War.-Contents:The resolution cited many factors to justify the use of military force against...

" (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

Quasi-War

The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought almost entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Undeclared War with France, the Undeclared Naval War, the Pirate Wars, or the...

). 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 -- examples being Holmes v. United States
Holmes v. United States
Holmes v. United States, 391 U.S. 936 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States denied a petition for writ of certiorari to a Jehovah's Witnesses minister who asked the Court to decide whether a draft of men into the Armed Forces in times of peace is constitutionally permissible...

and United States v. O'Brien
United States v. O'Brien
United States v. O'Brien, 391 U.S. 367 , was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that ruled that a criminal prohibition against burning a draft card did not violate the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech...

-- and in practice presidents have the power to commit forces with congressional approval but without a declaration of war.

Declaration of war by the United States

Formal

Military engagements authorized by Congress

Military engagements authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolutions

Other undeclared wars

The War Powers Resolution

Current status of the U.S. debate

See also

External links