On June 1, the president delivered a message to Congress outlining British transgressions against the U.S. The grievances primarily revolved around actions taken by the British navy off the U.S. coast.
The post Today in History: First Declaration of War under the Constitution first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.An Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) is not the same as a declaration of war. An AUMF is the Congress abdicating its power and allowing the president to usurp it. More importantly, it allows the president to start a war. The declaration of war power does not allow Congress to start a war. It…
Although the U.S. has been involved in many wars since then, World War II was the last time Congress declared war, as required by the Constitution (a 2nd declaration was passed on June 5, 1942 against Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania).
The founders didn’t trust the executive branch to exercise complete power over war.