World War II was the last war the United States fought with a formal declaration of war.
As background to this, in his book “The Next Decade,” George Friedman spends a good deal of time considering the relation of the American Empire to the American Republic and the threat the empire poses to the republic.
If there is a single point where these matters converge, it is in the constitutional requirement that Congress approve wars through a declaration of war and in the abandonment of this requirement since World War II.
This is the point where the burdens and interests of the United States as a global empire collide with the principles and rights of the United States as a republic.
The wars fought since World War II have had congressional approval, both in the sense that resolutions were passed and that Congress appropriated funds, but the Constitution is explicit in requiring a formal declaration.
Friedman proposes the American Constitution does it for two reasons.
- The first is to prevent the president from taking the country to war without the consent of the governed, as represented by Congress.
- Second, by providing for a specific path to war, it provides the president power and legitimacy he would not have without that declaration; it both restrains the president and empowers him.
Not only does it make his position as commander in chief unassailable by authorizing military action, it creates shared responsibility for war. A declaration of war informs the public of the burdens they will have to bear by leaving no doubt that Congress has decided on a new order — war — with how each member of Congress voted made known to the public.
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