The Pros And Cons Of The War Powers Resolution

Issues surrounding presidential constitutional authority as commander in chief implicate many of the most contested issues in constitutional law. Article I of the Constitution gives some war powers to the Congress — namely, the power to declare war — while Article II gives the president the power of Commander-in-Chief. After our tragic misadventure in Indochina, it was the general consensus that what happened was purely a result of presidential usurpation of the power of Congress to “declare War”. It was concluded that a necessary, legislative remedy to guard against future encroachment as well as protect the American people from presidential adventurism was needed. This legislation came in the form of the 1973 War Powers Resolution. The Act was created with the intention of creating a framework that incentivized the branches of government to work …show more content…
This paper will address the extensive debate regarding presidential powers and the fact that, though unwise and poor law, the War Powers Resolution is not unconstitutional. In order to determine whether or not the War Powers Resolution intrudes too deeply on standing presidential power, it is first necessary to identify the legitimate executive prerogative that the Congress may have infringed upon. Opponents of the War Powers Resolution make a serious argument on intrusiveness regarding only one executive prerogative, the President's power as "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States”, which is said