The Pros And Cons Of The Declaration Of War

War has always been a controversial issue in the United States. For a war to get public approval, the government has to successfully justify the war and lay out a clear plan for its quick and honorable end. Most wars have been justified as being for the defense of the United States or its interests. Prior to and including World War II, if the President decided that war was needed, he would ask Congress for an official declaration of war. This process is enumerated in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. A state of war was recognized before the President deployed troops and commenced his power as Commander-in-Chief. The controversy surrounding war has escalated as a result of United States involvement in foreign wars after World War II. In general, the President bypassed the …show more content…
In every instance, military action was authorized in one form or another without an official declaration of war from Congress as prescribed by Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. The question arises as to why the President at the time of each war did not ask Congress for an official declaration of war. For the Korean and Vietnam wars, the government was probably looking to avoid a Russian or Chinese military response and a potential World War III. One scholarly journal suggests that, “The increasing number of codified, international laws that govern belligerent conduct during warfare has made complying with the laws of war extremely costly. One way for states to limit these costs is to avoid admitting they are in a formal state of war by refraining from declaring war.” Additionally, an amendment to the Constitution could be made to allow for the newer way of entering wars. In the end, the controversy surrounding war would be significantly reduced if the government either followed the Constitution or made a few changes to the war declaring policy contained