# How do you declare war? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-declare-war/171694 "2003-04-28T15:49:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![stigoftdump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@stigoftdump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stigoftdump)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-declare-war/171694/1 "2003-04-28T15:49:43Z")
I read with interest Cecil talking about how if you don’t declare war, you can’t be called up for the draft. This got me a-wondering . . . Did America declare war on Iraq? If not, does that mean that a draft couldn’t be called? And that got me thinking even more. What counts as “declaring war”? Is it a good idea or a bad one to declare war, or is marching into someone’s country a declaration of war in itself? Any thoughts would be gratefully recieved. JB ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-declare-war/171694/2 "2003-04-28T15:58:25Z")
The last official Declaration of War from the US Congress was for World War II. The US has certainly engaged in a lot of wars since then, but Congress has not issuesd a Declaration of War since 1941. This is mostly because a DoW activates a lot of emergency war-time statutes that were not necessary for the relatively small-scale engagements in the post-WWII era. I’m not sure what Cecil wrote regarding the draft (the server seems to be misbehaving at the moment) but there was certainly a big one during the Korean and Vietnam wars, which did not have DoW’s from Congress. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-declare-war/171694/3 "2003-04-28T15:58:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by stigoftdump \* > \*\*And that got me thinking even more. What counts as “declaring war”? JB \*\* A Congressional resolution declaring that a state of war exists between the United States and [fill in the country]. It must be passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President. Just like any other legislation, the President can veto a resolution of war. Congress can override his veto, but it may be silly to declare a war when the person who is, by virtue of his office, the commander-in-chief, is against the war. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-declare-war/171694/4 "2003-04-28T19:18:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > The last official Declaration of War from the US Congress was for World War II. The US has certainly engaged in a lot of wars since then, but Congress has not issuesd a Declaration of War since 1941. [nitpick] 1942 [/nitpick] The last declaration of war by the US was 5 June 1942 against Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. But declarations of war seem to be out of fashion these days. I don’t know of any country formally declaring war since the end of WWII. I think we had a thread about this not too long ago, but I’m too lazy to do a search. ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-declare-war/171694/5 "2003-04-28T19:36:11Z")
The biggest problem with a draft is that the US military _doesn’t want one_. Our military is all-volunteer, which translates to smarter, more motivated, more capable troops who gave a damn while they were training and do their jobs well. Throwing a bunch of draftees who don’t want to be there into the mix is a guarantee for chaos. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-declare-war/171694/6 "2003-04-28T19:52:29Z")
Recent threads related to this topic: [Why can’t we declare war?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=169862) [Has the US declared war on Iraq?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=171316) [Declarations of war](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=170460) [U.S. Congress Has only Declared War Four Times?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=169870) [So is this war and if so who declared it?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=169131) ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-declare-war/171694/7 "2003-04-29T13:48:26Z")
I can’t find Cecil’s article, either, but a declaration of war does not trigger a draft. A draft may only begin when legislation authorizing a draft is enacted. The draft that was in effect for World War II, for example, began as a peacetime draft in 1940, which, IIRC, was passed by the House of Representatives by only a one-vote margin. [http://www.sss.gov/seq.htm](http://www.sss.gov/seq.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-declare-war/171694/8 "2003-04-29T14:14:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by stigoftdump \* > \*\*I read with interest Cecil talking about how if you don’t declare war, you can’t be called up for the draft. This got me a-wondering > JB \*\* Are you quite certain that this is what Cecil claimed? The US government can institute a draft any time it darn well pleases. All that has to happen is that Congress passes a conscription law and the President signs it or fails to veto it (either by veto or pocket veto). There would be no Constitutional basis to challenge a peacetime draft.