How many times has the U.S. declared war? I know four for sure (WWI, WWII, Spanish-American, War of 1812), five that it did not (Gulf Wars I & II, Vietnam, Korea, Civil War), and there are some I’m just not sure about (Mexican, Tripolitian).
So what’s the true tally wars that were accompanied by an official Congressional declaration?
The Mexican-American war was official.
To wit:
War of 1812
Mexican-American
Spanish-American
World War I
World War II
A while back I made a list of all such declarations:
18 Jun 1812 Great Britain
2/3 Mar 1815 Algiers
13 May 1846 Mexico
25 Apr 1898 Spain
6 Apr 1917 Germany
7 Dec 1917 Austria-Hungary
8 Dec 1941 Japan
11 Dec 1941 Germany
11 Dec 1941 Italy
5 Jun 1942 Bulgaria
5 Jun 1942 Hungary
5 Jun 1942 Romania
The one for Algiers was actually more of an ultimatum than an outright declaration. I’m also not sure of the exact date but it was either the 2nd or 3rd of March 1815. BTW, that was the second Barbary War. In the first one, Tripoli declared war on the US but Congress never reciprocated. Not that that made any difference to the people fighting it.
I will nitpick and ask that the Algeria resolution be removed from that list of declarations of war; as you state, it wasn’t a declaration of war.
But in its place, I offer you a comprehensive list of authorizations for the use of military force:
May 28, 1798 – Protection of the Commerce and Coasts of the US (relating to France)
July 9, 1798 – Protection of the Commerce of the US (also re: France)
Feb 8, 1802 – Protection of the Commerce and Seamen of the US Against the Tripolitian Cruisers
March 3, 1815 – Protection of the Commerce and Seamen of the US Against the Algerine Cruisers
March 3, 1819 (and other dates to Aug 5, 1861) – Suppression of Piracy
Jan 29, 1955 – Authorization for the President to Employ the Armed Forces of the US for Protecting the Security of Formosa, the Pecadores, and Related Positions and Territories of That Area
Mar 9, 1957 – Promotion of Peace and Stability in the Middle East (against Communist aggression)
Aug 10, 1964 – Maintenence of Internation Peace and Security in Southeast Asia
Oct 12, 1982 – Multinational Force in Lebanon
Jan 14, 1991 – Authorization of the Use of the US Armed Forces Pursuant to UNSC Resolution 678 with Respect to Iraq
Sept 18, 2001 – Authorization of the Use of the US Armed Forces Against Those Responsible for the Recent Attacks Against the US
Oct 17, 2002 – Authorization of the Use of Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002
Huh? No authorizations for the Boxer Rebellion, Pancho Villa’s incursion, the invasion of Russia, and various episodes of gunboat diplomacy?
No congressional authorizations, no.