The debate of whether the President or Congress should have more war powers has been debated for more than 200 years, and we are still not close to solving the problem. Some say that the President's authority to make war is far from absolute, though most presidents have other opinions. Several presidents, like Johnson and Bush, have made decisions alone that have affected our country in a negative way. Presidents have been known to make rash decisions disregarding Congress and send troops to war without the formal declaration of war. Congress has only declared war five times and presidents have sent troops to war more than 150 times. This shows that the president needs more checks and less power.
The wars that we have fought without a formal declaration of war were very costly and most Americans agree that they were unnecessary and a bad decision. For example, during the Vietnam War, Congress did not agree with involving the U.S. in the war any longer, however, Johnson sent more troops anyway. This war became famous and controversial because of the disagreement that some believe cost 58,000 American lives. Eventually, Congress was forced to act and …show more content…
is an ideal plan. Unlike current day, where a president is free to make rash decisions on his own. Presidents today almost ignore the fact that Congress is the only one who can declare war and that the War Powers Act requires presidents to terminate the use of force after 90 days if congress does not agree. The Constitution divides war powers between the executive and the legislative branches and this is how it should be. However, the interpretation has gotten out of hand and I believe the decision would be safer in the hands of Congress. The decision to declare war or not would be thought out and this process may prevent the U.S. form getting involved in another unnecessary war that would lead to
The wars that we have fought without a formal declaration of war were very costly and most Americans agree that they were unnecessary and a bad decision. For example, during the Vietnam War, Congress did not agree with involving the U.S. in the war any longer, however, Johnson sent more troops anyway. This war became famous and controversial because of the disagreement that some believe cost 58,000 American lives. Eventually, Congress was forced to act and …show more content…
is an ideal plan. Unlike current day, where a president is free to make rash decisions on his own. Presidents today almost ignore the fact that Congress is the only one who can declare war and that the War Powers Act requires presidents to terminate the use of force after 90 days if congress does not agree. The Constitution divides war powers between the executive and the legislative branches and this is how it should be. However, the interpretation has gotten out of hand and I believe the decision would be safer in the hands of Congress. The decision to declare war or not would be thought out and this process may prevent the U.S. form getting involved in another unnecessary war that would lead to