Declaration of war by the United States
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A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation and another. A document by the Federation of American Scientists gives an extensive listing and summary of statutes which are automatically engaged upon the United States declaring war.Template:Sfn
For the United States, Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution says "Congress shall 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, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Doe v. Bush, said: "[T]he text of the October Resolution itself spells out justifications for a war and frames itself as an 'authorization' of such a war",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in effect saying that an authorization suffices for declaration and that 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 against Axis-aligned Hungary, 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref name="Henderson2000">Template:Cite book</ref> James Madison reported that in the Federal Convention of 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.<ref>The Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 reported by James Madison : August 17,The Avalon Project, Yale Law School, retrieved Feb 13, 2008</ref> 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 a Constitutional Amendment that would require a national referendum on a declaration of war.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Several constitutional amendments, such as the Ludlow Amendment, have been proposed that would require a national referendum on a declaration of war.
After Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in January 1971 and President Richard Nixon continued to wage war in Vietnam, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution (Template:USPL) 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Declarations of war
The United States has formally declared war in five separate conflicts, issuing declarations against ten different foreign nations. The only country to have been the subject of multiple U.S. war declarations is Germany, which the United States formally declared war against twice, once in World War I and again in World War II. A case could also be made for Hungary, as it was a successor state to Austria-Hungary, against which the U.S. declared war in World War I.
Formal Declarations of War
Under the United States Constitution, Congress holds the sole authority to issue formal war declarations. Since the nation's founding, Congress has exercised this power on a limited number of occasions.
The first formal declaration occurred on June 18, 1812, when the United States declared war against the United Kingdom, citing British impressment of American sailors and violations of U.S. neutrality during the Napoleonic Wars. This conflict, known as the War of 1812, concluded with the Treaty of Ghent in 1814.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On May 13, 1846, Congress declared war on Mexico at the request of President James K. Polk, following territorial disputes and military clashes in Texas. The Mexican–American War resulted in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), which expanded U.S. territory to include present-day California, Arizona, and other southwestern states.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Spanish–American War marked another instance of a formal declaration of war. The conflict was precipitated by the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor and growing tensions over Spanish colonial rule in Cuba. The war ended later that year with the Treaty of Paris (1898), which granted the United States control over former Spanish territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
During World War I, the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, citing unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann telegram, in which Germany attempted to persuade Mexico to join the war against the United States. Later that year, on December 7, 1917, Congress also declared war on Austria–Hungary, a German ally. The conflict formally ended for the United States with the signing of separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary in 1921.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
World War II saw the most formal war declarations by the United States. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Congress declared war on Japan the next day, with near-unanimous approval. In response, Nazi Germany and Italy, led by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, declared war on the United States on December 11, prompting reciprocal declarations by Congress against both nations. In 1942, the United States further declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania, all Axis-aligned nations.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> The war concluded in 1945 with the unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan, followed by formal peace treaties in the years after.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Each of these declarations was issued through a Congressional resolution, signed into law by the president, signifying the commencement of hostilities under the authority of the U.S. government. Since World War II, the United States has engaged in numerous military conflicts, but none have been accompanied by a formal declaration of war. Instead, Congress has authorized the use of military force through resolutions, such as those in Korea, Vietnam, and the war on terror, including conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Undeclared wars
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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 | Template:Flagdeco France | An Act further to protect the commerce of the United States July 9, 1798 |
18–4 | John Adams | Adams requested legislation allowing the United States Navy to defend American shipping after repeated attacks by the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars.<ref name=":3">Template:Harvp</ref> | Treaty of Mortefontaine | ||||||
| First Barbary War | Template:Flagicon Morocco |
"An Act for the Protection of the Commerce and Seamen of the United States, Against the Tripolitan Cruisers", Template:Usstat, February 6, 1802<ref name=JefforsonEvents>Key Events in the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson Template:Webarchive, Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia, (retrieved on August 10, 2010).</ref> | Thomas Jefferson | President Jefferson requested legislation allowing the U. S. Navy to defend shipping in the Mediterranean Sea from Tripolitanian vessels.<ref name=":4">Template:Harvp</ref> | War ended 1805 | |||||||
| Second Barbary War | File:Flag of the Ottoman Empire (1453-1844).svg Algiers | "An Act for the protection of the commerce of the United States against the Algerine cruisers", Template:Usstat, May 10, 1815<ref name=MadisonEvents>Key Events in the Presidency of James Madison Template:Webarchive, Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia, (retrieved on August 10, 2010).</ref> | 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.<ref name=":4" /> | 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", Template:Usstat, 1819 | James Monroe | 1822 first African-American settlement founded in Liberia, 1823 U.S. Navy stops anti-trafficking patrols | ||||||||
| Suppression of Piracy | Pirates | 1819 | The United States Congress passed legislation allowing the United States Navy to suppress piracy in response to the rise in piracy in Latin America and the Caribbean after the Spanish American wars of independence, which was later permanently codified as Title 33 of the United States Code.<ref name=":3" /> | |||||||||
| Redress for attack on U.S. Navy's Template:USS | Template:Flag | 1858<ref>Expenses – Paraguay Expedition, House of Representatives, 36th Congress, 1st Session, Mis. Doc. No. 86 (May 11, 1860), p. 142</ref> | James Buchanan | |||||||||
| Mexican Revolution | Template:Flag | H.J.R. 251, 38 Stat. 770 April 22, 1914<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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337–37 | Woodrow Wilson | Force withdrawn after six months. However, the Joint Resolution was likely used to authorize the Pancho 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.<ref>Cyrulik, John M., A Strategic Examination of the Punitive Expedition into Mexico, 1916–1917. Fort Leavenworth, KS, 2003. (Master's thesis)</ref><ref>Wolfensberger, Don. Congress and Woodrow Wilson's Introductory Forays into Mexico, an Introductory Essay. Congress Project Seminar On Congress and U.S. Military Interventions Abroad. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Monday, May 17, 2004</ref> | ||||||
| Russian Civil War |
Template:Flagicon image Commune of Estonia |
1918<ref>A History of Russia, 7th Edition, Nichlas V. Riasanovsky & Mark D. Steinberg, Oxford University Press, 2005.</ref> | ||||||||||
| Lebanon crisis of 1958 | Template:Flagicon Lebanese Opposition | H.J. Res. 117, Public Law 85-7, Joint Resolution "To promote peace and stability in the Middle East", March 9, 1957<ref>Congress' Approval of the Eisenhower Doctrine 1957</ref> | 72–19 | 355–61 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Eisenhower requested legislation allowing U.S. economic and military assistance to the Middle East during the Cold War, including the ability to deploy the military in response to threatened Communist takeovers.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> | U.S. forces withdrawn, October 25, 1958 | |||||
| Vietnam War
|
Template:Flagicon Mainland China Template:Flag |
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, August 7, 1964 | 88–2 | 416–0 | Lyndon B. Johnson | Johnson requested authorization for a military deployment to defend South Vietnam and U.S. military forces already stationed there from under SEATO collective security obligations, citing alleged Vietnam People's Navy attacks on United States Navy warcraft including the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Congress responded with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> | U.S. forces withdrawn under terms of the Paris Peace Accords signed January 27, 1973 | |||||
| Multinational Force in Lebanon | Template:Flagicon image Shia militias, Template:Nowrap, Template:Nowrap | S.J.Res. 159 Template:USPL September 29, 1983 |
54–46 | 253–156 | Ronald W. Reagan | Reagan announced the deployment of a small United States Marine Corps contingent 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 the War Powers Resolution, it and the Reagan administration negotiated a resolution allowing the marines to remain in Lebanon for 18 months.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> | ||||||
| Persian Gulf War | Template:Flag | H.J.Res. 77 January 12, 1991. |
52–47 | 250–183 | George H.W. Bush | Bush announced the deployment of 330,000 soldiers to Saudi Arabia in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and began diplomatic overtures to form an international coalition to defend the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Congress approved an Authorization for Use of Military Force against Ba'athist Iraq to liberate Kuwait under United Nations Security Council Resolution 678.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> | The United Nations Security Council drew up terms for the cease-fire, April 3, 1991. The administration of George W. Bush later argued that the AUMF never expired during the build-up to the Iraq War. The United States House of Representatives voted to repeal it in 2021.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | ||||
| War on terror | Template:Flagicon Afghanistan
Template:Flagicon image al-Qaeda
Template:Flagicon image Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya Template:Flagicon High Council of the Islamic Emirate Template:Flagicon image al-Itihaad al-Islamiya Template:Flagicon Abu Sayyaf |
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 the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001" as well as governments which sheltered them such as the First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. It also allowed the president to use force to prevent future acts of terrorism. Since then the authorization has been invoked in conflicts in 22 countries against the original perpetrator of 9/11 al-Qaeda as well as other organizations such as Al-Shabaab, the Taliban, and the Islamic 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 in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld that the authorization enabled the president to detain individuals, including U.S. citizens, as enemy combatants, although it granted detainees to challenge this status in U.S. courts and further ruled in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that they were protected by laws of war such as the Geneva Conventions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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The Global War on Terror is ongoing. The War 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 the Doha Peace Agreement signed on February 29, 2020. The U.S. disengagement from Afghanistan resulted in the Fall of Kabul to the Taliban on August 15, 2021 and in a broad re-establishment of the status quo ante bellum. The U.S. backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed even before the completion of the American withdrawal, and the Taliban victory led to the restoration of the Islamic 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 ongoing American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war that was initiated on September 22, 2014 under President Barack Obama's administration. In spite of a significant drawdown of U.S. ground forces in Syria at the direction of President Donald Trump in 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. The United States House of Representatives voted to repeal the 2001 AUMF in 2021.<ref name=":6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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| Iraq War<ref>Obama's full speech: Operation Iraqi Freedom is Over, NBC News</ref> | Template:Flag | H.J. Res. 114, March 3, 2003 |
77–23 | 296–132 | During the Iraq disarmament crisis Bush successfully requested an authorization of military force against Iraq alleging violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions including the ceasefire with Kuwait, illegal weapons of mass destruction programs, and 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 the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 designating the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship as a goal of U.S. foreign policy.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Ba'athist Iraqi government abolished April 2003, Saddam Hussein executed. War ended December 15, 2011. Destabilization of Iraq and emergence of ISIL (ISIS) in Iraq region 2014–2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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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 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions and funded by appropriations from Congress.<ref>United Nations Participation Act, December 20, 1945 Sec. 6, The Commander in Chief and United Nations Charter Article 43: A Case of Irreconcilable Differences?, Rethinking War Powers: Congress, The President, and the United Nations</ref>
Other undeclared wars
On at least 125 occasions, the president has acted without prior express military authorization from Congress.<ref>The President's Constitutional Authority To Conduct Military Operations Against Terrorists and Nations Supporting Them</ref> These include instances in which the United States fought in the Philippine–American War from 1898 to 1903, in Nicaragua in 1927, as well as the NATO bombing campaign of Yugoslavia in 1999, and the 2018 missile strikes on Syria.
The Indian Wars comprise at least 28 conflicts and engagements. These localized conflicts, with Native 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 the American Revolutionary War in 1775 and had concluded by 1918. The United States Army still maintains a campaign streamer for Pine Ridge 1890–1891 despite opposition from certain Native American groups.<ref>Army Continues to Parade Wounded Knee Battle Streamer Template:Webarchive, National Congress of American Indians.</ref>
The American Civil War was not an international conflict under the laws of war, because the Confederate States of America (CSA) was not a government that had been granted full diplomatic recognition as a sovereign nation by other sovereign states<ref name="history-state-gov">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="McPherson">Template:Cite book</ref> or by the government of the United States.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The US joined the Israeli war on Iran on the night of June 22, 2025 without a declaration of war or congressional approval.
War Powers Resolution
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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 of Libyan air defenses and government forces exceeded his constitutional authority because the decision to authorize the attack was made without congressional permission.<ref>Obama Attacked for No Congressional Consent on Libya, New York Times.</ref>
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
References
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Further reading
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Kenneth A. Schultz, Tying Hands and Washing Hands: The U.S. Congress and Multilateral Humanitarian Intervention, Ch. 4, pp 105–142, in Daniel 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