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Chapter 8-War PowersWhen the Constitution was drafted and ratified there was only one body of the federal government that had the power to declare war -- Congress. That power was delineated in Article 1, Section VIII, and provides that Congress shall have power:
- “To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
- To raise and support Armies, but
no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than
two Years;
- To provide and maintain a Navy;
- To make Rules for the Government
and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
- To provide for calling forth the
Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and
repel Invasions;
- To provide for organizing,
arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and
for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of
the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the
Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;”
As with all other duties and responsibilities of the Congress, these responsibilities cannot be traded, given away, ignored, delegated, or otherwise done away with. Items within the Constitution are designed to ensure a balance of power that protects our nation from despotic, power-hungry men who would use their positions as a means to advance their own selfish agendas. So when the Constitution says, the “Congress shall have power to …,” then that is exactly what it means. Nowhere does it say that Congress can give away any power as it sees fit. It is a matter of responsibility to the nation, and more importantly a responsibility to you and me, and when they fail or give away power they fail us and the nation. It is the responsibility of the people of this nation to hold our leaders to those responsibilities; and if necessary, we should rise up and take back a government that has failed its’ responsibility, by whatever means necessary.
