In a letter addressed to his wife in 1864, Robert E. Lee wrote, “What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends…to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world.” War, no word strikes deeper despair or dread at the inevitable, grotesque acts that will be inflicted upon the face of a beautiful world. One does not even have to imagine but may simply look into the history books to learn of the things committed purely out of anger and hatred for one’s brother, the second world war being one such example. How could such a bloodshed or even the involvement of American military force ever become a justified incident? St. Thomas Aquinas, an immensely influential
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Thomas states “The natural order conducive to peace among mortals demands that the power to declare and counsel war should be in the hands of those who hold the supreme authority.” Long ago America’s Founding Father’s created Congress in order to uphold order, peace and justice and offered the Constitution to insure the maintenance of their intentions. According to Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution, Congress alone has the rightful authority to declare war as it states, “[The Congress shall have Power...] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.” In January 1942 the text of the declaration of war against Germany was signed, approving presidential authority to “employ the entire naval and military forces of the United States” in whatever way he foresees as the correct action to take so that the threat may no longer exist. Recalling the first criteria of a just war according to the great St. Thomas Aquinas that, “the authority of the sovereign by whose command the war is to be waged” he goes on to further clarify “that, it is not the business of a private individual to declare war” such as the president of the United States. One dares not deny that America did not justly uphold this precedent according to the declaration of the Constitution nor from the wise teachings of St.
Thomas states “The natural order conducive to peace among mortals demands that the power to declare and counsel war should be in the hands of those who hold the supreme authority.” Long ago America’s Founding Father’s created Congress in order to uphold order, peace and justice and offered the Constitution to insure the maintenance of their intentions. According to Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution, Congress alone has the rightful authority to declare war as it states, “[The Congress shall have Power...] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.” In January 1942 the text of the declaration of war against Germany was signed, approving presidential authority to “employ the entire naval and military forces of the United States” in whatever way he foresees as the correct action to take so that the threat may no longer exist. Recalling the first criteria of a just war according to the great St. Thomas Aquinas that, “the authority of the sovereign by whose command the war is to be waged” he goes on to further clarify “that, it is not the business of a private individual to declare war” such as the president of the United States. One dares not deny that America did not justly uphold this precedent according to the declaration of the Constitution nor from the wise teachings of St.