Whether the President of the United States has increasingly assumed too many war powers in recent years (5-6 decades)

Whether the President of the United States has increasingly assumed too many war powers in recent years (5-6 decades)

In World War II, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war against Japan, Germany and Italy in 1941, the day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, December 7. However, in Korea, we insisted the U.S. was participating in a "police action," so the debate over who had war-making powers did not arise. From 1950 to 1953, U.S. forces were committed to war against communist North Korea, -- without a formal declaration by Congress.

During the Cold War (1945 - 1991), Congress acquiesced to the President. The Cold War symbolized the fight for supremacy between communist, especially the Soviet Union, and democratic, primarily the U.S., countries. It was not a “hot” war in the sense that one nation attacked another. However, there was the threat of immediate nuclear exchange between the U.S. and its enemies allowed only minutes to make a decision.

In Vietnam, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution allowed President Johnson to at least pay lip service to the Congressional war-making prerogative. This resolution stated that Congress approved and supported the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression. This resolution further stated that it was both in the national interest of the U.S. and the interest of world peace to maintain peace and security in Southeast Asia.

The War Powers Resolution was passed in 1973, following eight years of the war in Southeast Asia. At the time, U.S. forces were still involved in a conflict between communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam without a formal declaration of war. By this time, the administration of President Richard M. Nixon had begun a substantial withdrawal of U.S. forces. However, Congress was concerned about how an undeclared war could last eight years and cost 50, 000 lives. The War Powers Act granted the President the right to send forces overseas for 60 days without any sort of congressional authorization. The purpose of the War Powers Resolution (P.L. 93-148, passed over President Nixon's veto on November 7, 1973) is to ensure that both Congress and the President share in making decisions that may get the U.S. involved in hostilities. This resolution requires the President to meet several conditions whenever the President introduces U.S. forces abroad in situations that might be considered hostile or imminently hostile.

Nixon faced many challenges as he took office. At home, inflation was out of control. The stock market fell 36 percent between November 1968 and May1970. The unemployment rate was up to 6.6 percent by the end of 1970. Abroad, there was the unpopular Vietnam War. Nixon knew that the war had destroyed his predecessor. He felt that if he did not resolve the Vietnam War within his first six months in office that ...