Declaration of war by the United States

United States PresidentFranklin D. Rooseveltsigns the declaration of war against Japan on December 8, 1941

Adeclaration of waris a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation and another. A document by theFederation of American Scientistsgives an extensive listing and summary of statutes which are automatically engaged upon theUnited Statesdeclaring war.

For the United States,Article One, Section Eightof theConstitutionsays "Congressshall have power to... declare War. "However, that passage provides no specific format for what form legislation must have in order to be considered a"declaration of war"nor does the Constitution itself use this term. In the courts, theUnited States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit,inDoe v. Bush,said: "[T]he text of theOctober Resolutionitself spells out justifications for a war and frames itself as an 'authorization' of such a war. "in effect saying an authorization suffices for declaration and what some may view as a formal congressional "Declaration of War" was not required by the Constitution.

The last time the United States formally declared war, using specific terminology, on any nation was in 1942, when war was declared againstAxis-alliedHungary, Bulgaria, and Romania, because President Franklin Roosevelt thought it was improper to engage in hostilities against a country without a formal declaration of war. Since then, every American president has used military force without a declaration of war.

This article will use the term "formal declaration of war" to mean congressional legislation that uses the phrase "declaration of war" in the title. Elsewhere, this article will use the terms "authorized by Congress," "funded by Congress" or "undeclared war" to describe other such conflicts.

History

The United States has formally declared war against foreign nations in five separate wars, each upon prior request by the president of the United States. Four of those five declarations came after hostilities had begun.James Madison reported that in theFederal Conventionof 1787, the phrase "make war" was changed to "declare war" in order to leave to the executive the power to repel sudden attacks but not to commence war without the explicit approval of Congress.Debate continues as to the legal extent of the president's authority in this regard.

Public opposition to American involvement in foreign wars, particularly during the 1930s, was expressed as support for aConstitutional Amendmentthat would require anational referendum on a declaration of war.Several constitutional amendments, such as theLudlow Amendment,have been proposed that would require a national referendum on a declaration of war.

After Congress repealed theGulf of Tonkin Resolutionin January 1971 and PresidentRichard Nixoncontinued to wage war in Vietnam, Congress passed theWar Powers Resolution(Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States)93–148) over the veto of Nixon in an attempt to rein in some of the president's claimed powers. The War Powers Resolution proscribes the only power of the president to wage war which is recognized by Congress.

Declarations of war

Formal

The table below lists the five wars in which the United States has formally declared war against ten 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 forHungaryas asuccessor statetoAustria-Hungary).

In World War II, the Japaneseattacked Pearl Harboron December 7, 1941. Germany andItaly,led respectively byAdolf HitlerandBenito Mussolini,declared war on the United States, and the U.S. Congress responded in kind.

War	Declaration	Opponent(s)	Date of declaration	Votes		President	Details of Authorization	Result
				Senate	House
War of 1812	Declaration of war on the United Kingdom	United Kingdomandits dependencies	June 18, 1812	19–13	79–49	James Madison	Madison requested the declaration citing theRoyal Navy'simpressmentofU.S. citizensand other alleged violations of American neutrality during theNapoleonic Wars.The declaration was supported by theDemocratic-Republican Partyand otherwar hawksin Congress and opposed by theFederalist Party.	Treaty of Ghent(December 24, 1814)
Mexican–American War	Declaration of war on Mexico	Mexico	May 13, 1846	40–2	173–14	James K. Polk	Polk requested the declaration citing territorial disputes with theMexican government,which refused to recognize theRio Grandeas theMexico–United States borderafter theU.S. annexation of Texas.Mexican presidentJosé Joaquín de Herrerarefused to enter negotiations with U.S. ambassadorJohn Slidell,and theMexican Armyattacked theUnited States Armyon disputed territory in the 1846Thornton Affair.The declaration was opposed by theWhig Party,which viewed the war as a pretext for theDemocratic Partyto incorporate moreslave statesinto the United States.	Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo(February 2, 1848)
Spanish–American War	Declaration of war on Spain	Spain	April 25, 1898	42–35	310–6	William McKinley	McKinley requested the declaration citing the sinking of theUSSMaineinHavana Harborafter years of decliningSpain–United States relationsas a result of theCuban War of Independence.Unlike other declarations, it occurred after the U.S. issued an ultimatum demanding theSpanish Empiregrant independence toCuba.	Treaty of Paris(December 10, 1898)
World War I	Declaration of war on Germany	Germany	April 6, 1917	82–6	373–50	Woodrow Wilson	Wilson requested the declaration citing theImperial German Navy's resumption ofunrestricted submarine warfareand theZimmermann Telegramoffering Mexico a return of theMexican Cessionif it allied with theCentral Powersand invaded the United States.	Knox–Porter Resolution(July 1921) 1921 U.S.–German Peace Treaty(August 25, 1921)
	Declaration of war on Austria-Hungary	Austria-Hungary	December 7, 1917	74–0	365–1		Wilson requested the declaration citingAustria-Hungary's alliance with Germany and participation in attacks on U.S. citizens, including theAustro-Hungarian Navy's complicity in submarine attacks on American shipping.	1921 U.S.–Austrian Peace Treaty(August 24, 1921),1921 U.S.–Hungarian Peace Treaty(August 29, 1921)
World War II	Declaration of war on Japan	Japan	December 8, 1941	82–0	388–1	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Roosevelt requested the declaration citing theImperial Japanese Armed Forces' attack on theUnited States Pacific Fleetin theattack on Pearl Harbora day earlier. It was approved near-unanimously with only one dissenting vote in the entire Congress fromJeannette Rankin.	Surrender of JapanV-J Day,Japanese Instrument of Surrender(September 2, 1945),Treaty of San Francisco(September 8, 1951)
	Declaration of war on Germany	Germany	December 11, 1941	88–0	393–0		Roosevelt requested the declaration in response to theGerman declaration of war against the United States.Approved unanimously with no dissenting votes.	German Instrument of Surrender(May 8, 1945),V-E Day,Public Law 181(October 19, 1951),Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany(September 12, 1990),Treaty of Viennawith Austria (May 15, 1955)
	Declaration of war on Italy	Italy		90–0	399–0		Roosevelt requested the declaration in response to theItalian declaration of war on the United States.Approved unanimously with no dissenting votes.	Armistice of Cassibile(September 3, 1943) Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947Paris Peace Treaties(February 10, 1947)
	Declaration of war on Bulgaria	Bulgaria	June 5, 1942	73–0	357–0		Roosevelt requested the declaration citing the three countries' involvement in theAxis powerswith Germany and Italy.
	Declaration of war on Hungary	Hungary			360–0
	Declaration of war on Romania	Romania			361–0

Undeclared wars

Military engagements authorized by Congress

In other instances, the United States has engaged in extended military combat that was authorized by Congress.

War or conflict	Opponent(s)	Initial authorization	Votes		President	Details of Authorization	Result
			Senate	House
Quasi-War	France	An Act further to protect the commerce of the United States July 9, 1798	18–4		John Adams	Adams requested legislation allowing theUnited States Navyto defend American shipping after repeated attacks by theFrench Navyduring theFrench Revolutionary Wars.	Treaty of Mortefontaine
First Barbary War	Morocco Tripolitania	"An Act for the Protection of the Commerce and Seamen of the United States, Against the Tripolitan Cruisers", 2Stat.129,February 6, 1802			Thomas Jefferson	President Jefferson requested legislation allowing the U. S. Navy to defend shipping in theMediterranean Seafrom Tripolitanian vessels.	War ended 1805
Second Barbary War	Algiers	"An Act for the protection of the commerce of the United States against the Algerine cruisers", 3Stat.230,May 10, 1815			James Madison	Madison requested a declaration of war against Algiers citing attacks on U.S. shipping in the Mediterranean. Congress rejected the request for a formal war declaration but ratified legislation allowing the U.S. Navy to defend U.S. commerce.	War ended 1816
Enforcing 1808 slave trade ban; naval squadron sent to African waters to apprehend illegal slave traders	Slave traders	"Act in addition to the acts prohibiting the Slave Trade", 3Stat.532,1819			James Monroe		1822 first African-American settlement founded in Liberia, 1823 U.S. Navy stops anti-trafficking patrols
Suppression of Piracy	Pirates	1819			James Monroe	The United States Congress passed legislation allowing the United States Navy to suppress piracy in response to the rise in piracy inLatin America and the Caribbeanafter theSpanish American wars of independence,which was later permanently codified asTitle 33 of the United States Code.
Redressfor attack onU.S. Navy'sUSSWater Witch	Paraguay	1858.			James Buchanan
Mexican Revolution United States occupation of Veracruz	Mexico	H.J.R. 251, 38 Stat. 770 April 22, 1914		337–37	Woodrow Wilson		Force withdrawn after six months. However, the Joint Resolution was likely used to authorize thePancho Villa Expedition.In the Senate, "when word reached the Senate that the invasion had gone forward before the use-of-force resolution had been approved, Republicans reacted angrily" saying it was a violation of the Constitution, but eventually after the action had already started, a resolution was passed after the action to "justify" it since Senators did not think it was a declaration of war.
Russian Civil War Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War	Commune of Estonia Far Eastern Republic Latvia Mongolian People's Party Russia Ukraine	1918			Woodrow Wilson
Lebanon crisis of 1958	Lebanese Opposition Al-Mourabitoun Lebanese Communist Party Progressive Socialist Party	H.J. Res. 117, Public Law 85-7, Joint Resolution "To promote peace and stability in the Middle East",March 9, 1957	72–19	355–61	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Eisenhower requested a legislation allowing U.S. economic and military assistance to theMiddle Eastduring theCold War,including the ability to deploy the military in response to threatened Communist takeovers.	U.S. forces withdrawn, October 25, 1958
Vietnam War Laotian Civil War Cambodian Civil War	Mainland China National United Front of Kampuchea Khmer Rouge Khmer Rumdo Khmer Việt Minh North Korea North Vietnam Pathet Lao South Vietnam Việt Cộng	Gulf of Tonkin Resolution,August 7, 1964	88–2	416–0	Lyndon B. Johnson	Johnson requested authorization for a military deployment to defendSouth VietnamandU.S. military forces already stationed therefrom underSEATOcollective security obligations, citing allegedVietnam People's Navyattacks on United States Navy warcraft including theUSS Maddoxin theGulf of Tonkin incident.Congress responded with theGulf of Tonkin Resolution.	U.S. forces withdrawn under terms of theParis Peace Accordssigned January 27, 1973
Multinational Force in Lebanon	Shiamilitias,Druzemilitias,Syria	S.J.Res. 159 Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States)98–119 September 29, 1983	54–46	253–156	Ronald W. Reagan	Reagan announced the deployment of a smallUnited States Marine Corpscontingent of forces for peacekeeping in the Lebanese Civil War, claiming they would supervise the PLO withdrawal from Beirut and provide law enforcement, but not participate in direct combat. After Congress invoked theWar Powers Resolutionit and the Reagan administration negotiated a resolution allowing the marines to remain in Lebanon for 18 months.
Persian Gulf War	Ba'athist Iraq	H.J.Res. 77 January 12, 1991.	52–47	250–183	George H.W. Bush	Bush announced the deployment of 330,000 United States Armed Forces troops to Saudi Arabia in response to theIraqi invasion of Kuwaitand began diplomatic overtures to form aninternational coalitionto defend theArab states of the Persian Gulf.Congress approved an Authorization for Use of Military Force againstBa'athist Iraqto liberate Kuwait underUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 678.	TheUnited Nations Security Councildrew up terms for the cease-fire, April 3, 1991. Theadministration of George W. Bushlater argued that the AUMF never expired during thebuild-up to the Iraq War.TheUnited States House of Representativesvoted to repeal it in 2021.
War on Terror	Afghanistan Quetta Shura Taliban Haqqani network Mullah Dadullah Front al-Qaeda 055 Brigade Al-Nusra Front Khorasan group al-Qaeda Emirate in Yemen Aden-Abyan Islamic Army Islamic Jihad of Yemen al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Ansar al-Sharia al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent Lashkar al-Zil Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin Islamic Jihad Union Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Jamaat-ul-Ahrar Jundallah Lashkar-e-Islam Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi Turkistan Islamic Party Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan High Council of the Islamic Emirate Fidai Mahaz al-Itihaad al-Islamiya Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahedeen Hizbul Islam Islamic Courts Union Jabhatul Islamiya Mu'askar Anole Ras Kamboni Brigades Abu Sayyaf Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters Islamic State Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Maute group Khalifa Islamiyah Mindanao	S.J. Res. 23 September 14, 2001	98–0	420–1	George W. Bush	Bush successfully requested a congressional authorizing the president of the United States to use military force against "those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided theterrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001"as well as governments which sheltered them such as theFirst Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.It also allowed the president to use force to prevent future acts ofterrorism.Since then the authorization has been invoked in conflicts in 22 countries against the original perpetrator of 9/11al-Qaedaas well as other organizations such asAl-Shabaab,theTaliban,and theIslamic State.The authorization is also notable in that it delegated war powers related to terrorism from Congress to the president, and allowed the United States to make war against individuals and organizations in addition to sovereign states. The Supreme Court ruled inHamdi v. Rumsfeldthat the authorization enabled the president to detain individuals, including U.S. citizens, asenemy combatants,although it granted detainees to challenge this status in U.S. courts and further ruled inHamdan v. Rumsfeldthat they were protected bylaws of warsuch as theGeneva Conventionsand theUniform Code of Military Justice.	The Global War on Terror is ongoing. TheWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021),that was carried out by the United States under the Global War on Terror's general authorization for use of military force, came to an end on August 30, 2021 with the total withdrawal of the American Forces from Afghanistan under the terms of theDoha Peace Agreementsigned on February 29, 2020. The U.S. disengagement from Afghanistan resulted in theFall of Kabulto the Taliban on August 15, 2021 and in a broad re-establishment of thestatus quo ante bellum.The U.S. backedIslamic Republic of Afghanistancollapsed even before the completion of the American withdrawal, and the Taliban victory led to the restoration of theIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Other U.S. military campaigns that are legally based on the Global War on Terror's general authorization for use of military force include the ongoingAmerican-led intervention in the Syrian civil warthat was initiated on September 22, 2014 under PresidentBarack Obama's administration. In spite of a significant drawdown of U.S. ground forces in Syria at the direction of PresidentDonald Trumpin 2019, the United States retains a residual presence of about 600 military personnel in Syria, and continues to conduct airstrikes against Iranian-supported militias as of 2021. TheUnited States House of Representativesvoted to repeal the 2001 AUMF in 2021.
Iraq War	Ba'athist Iraq	H.J. Res. 114, March 3, 2003	77–23	296–132	George W. Bush	During theIraq disarmament crisisBush successfully requested an authorization of military force against Iraq citing alleged allegations of violations ofUnited Nations Security Council resolutionsincluding the ceasefire with Kuwait, allegations of illegalweapons of mass destruction programs,allegations of the sheltering of al-Qaeda members in the country. The Bush administration also claimed that the conflict was sanctioned by the 1991 AUMF against Iraq and by theIraq Liberation Actof 1998 designating the overthrow ofSaddam Hussein's dictatorship as a goal ofU.S. foreign policy.	Ba'athist Iraqi government abolished April 2003, Saddam Hussein executed. War ended December 15, 2011. Destabilization of Iraq and emergence ofISIL (ISIS)in Iraq region 2014–2017. During the 2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis, PresidentDonald Trumpcited the AUMF in itsassassination of Qasem Soleimani. The United States House of Representatives voted to repeal the AUMF in 2021.

Military engagements authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolutions and funded by Congress

In many instances, the United States has engaged in extended military engagements that were authorized byUnited Nations Security CouncilResolutions and funded by appropriations from Congress.

Military engagement	Opponent(s)	Initial authorization	President	Result
Korean War	China North Korea Soviet Union	UNSCR 84,1950	Harry S. Truman	Korean Armistice Agreement,1953
Multinational Force in Lebanon	Shiamilitias,Druzemilitias,Syria	UNSCR 425,1978 UNSCR 426,1978	Jimmy Carter,Ronald Reagan	U.S. forces withdrew in 1984
Persian Gulf War	Iraq	UNSCR 678,1990	George H. W. Bush	UNSCR 689,1991
Bosnian War	Republika Srpska	UNSCR 770,1992 UNSCR 776,1992 UNSCR 836,1993	Bill Clinton	Reflagged asIFORin 1995, Reflagged asSFORin 1996, Completed in 2004
Second Liberian Civil War	N/A (Peacekeeping)	UNSCR 1497,2003	George W. Bush	U.S. forces are withdrawn in 2003 after theUNMILis established.
Haitian coup d'état		UNSCR 1529,2004 UNSCR 1542,2004		2004
First Libyan Civil War 2011 military intervention in Libya Operation Odyssey Dawn Operation Unified Protector	Libya	UNSCR 1973,2011	Barack Obama	Debellationof theLibyan Arab Jamahiriya,October 31, 2011

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 thePhilippine–American Warfrom 1898 to 1903, inNicaraguain 1927, as well as theNATO bombing campaignofYugoslaviain 1999, and the2018 missile strikesonSyria.

The United States'longest war,against theTalibanin Afghanistan, began in 2001 and ended with the withdrawal of American troops on 31 August 2021.

TheIndian Warscomprise at least 28 conflicts and engagements. These localized conflicts, withNative Americans,began with European colonists coming to North America, long before the establishment of the United States. 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 theAmerican Revolutionary Warin 1775 and had concluded by 1918. TheUnited States Armystill maintains acampaign streamerforPine Ridge 1890–1891despite opposition from certain Native American groups.

TheAmerican Civil Warwas not an international conflict under the laws of war, because theConfederate States of America(CSA) was not a government that had been granted full diplomatic recognition as asovereign nationby other sovereign statesor by the government of the United States.

The War Powers Resolution

Main article: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 theWar 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 deployed without a formal declaration of war.

Although the constitutionality of the act has never been tested, it is usually followed, most notably during theGrenada Conflict,thePanamanian Conflict,theSomalia Conflict,thePersian Gulf War,and theIraq War.The only exception was President Clinton's use of U.S. troops in the 78-day NATO air campaign againstYugoslaviaduring theKosovo 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.

On March 21, 2011, a number of lawmakers expressed concern that the decision of President Barack Obama to order the U.S. military to join in attacks ofLibyanair defenses and government forces exceeded his constitutional authority because the decision to authorize the attack was made without congressional permission.Obama explained his rationale in a two-page letter, stating that as commander in chief, he had constitutional authority to authorize the strikes, which would be limited in scope and duration, and necessary to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Libya.

See also

• Cold War
• Declaration of war by Canada
• Declaration of war by the United Kingdom
• Just War Theory
• Police action
• Timeline of United States military operations
• War on Terror
• War on Drugs

Further reading

• Grotius, Hugo (2004).On The Law Of War And Peace.Kessinger Publishing.ISBN978-1-4191-3875-1.
• Edwin Meese; Matthew Spalding; David F. Forte (2005).The Heritage guide to the Constitution.Regnery Publishing.ISBN978-1-59698-001-3.
• Kenneth A. Schultz,Tying Hands and Washing Hands: The U.S. Congress and Multilateral Humanitarian Intervention,Ch. 4, pp 105–142, inDaniel Drezner,Ed.Locating the Proper Authorities: The Interaction of Domestic and International Institutions,University of Michigan Press, 2003.

External links

• The House of Rep, Republican Study Committee of War and Military Authorized Conflicts. 2003.
• Declarations of war and votes
• Text of Declaration of War on Japan
• Text of Declaration of War on Germany
• Text of Declaration of War on Bulgaria
• Authorization for Use of Military Force— signed September 18, 2001
• House Joint Resolution Authorizing Use of Force Against Iraq— signed October 16, 2002
• Instances of Use of United States Forces Abroad, 1798–1993
• A partial list of U.S. military interventions from 1890 to 2006
• U.S.-Africa Chronology