I was reading earlier this week (in Newsweek, I think) that the U.S. Congress has only formally declared war on four occasions: War of 1812, Spanish-American War, WWI, and WWII.
Does anyone know if this is correct? if so, given the amount of times the U.S. has been involved in miltary action over the past two centuries, doesn’t it indicate that the debates we’ve had from time to time on the Board about “needing a declaration of war” is rather academic?
From what I can gather, it’s 5 times. The four you mention plus the Mexican War (1846-1848).
A minor quibble, which doesn’t affect the main issue of how many wards Congress has declared: the United States’ entry as a belligerent into World War II involved two declarations of war, one against Japan on 8 December 1941, and a second declaration of war against Germany on 11 December. President Roosevelt had asked for a declaration against both Germany and Italty, but Congress declared war only against Germany.
In doing some searching, technically we’ve done it 11 seperate times, according to this .pdf document on the subject. It comes from a search at http://www.house.gov/.
Basically, it states we formally declared war:
Great Britain June 18, 1812
Mexico May 13, 1846
Spain April 25, 1898
World War I – Germany April 6, 1917
World War I – Austria-Hungary December 7, 1917
World War II – Japan December 8, 1941
World War II – Germany December 11, 1941
World War II – Italy December 11, 1941
World War II – Bulgaria June 5, 1942
World War II – Hungary June 5, 1942
World War II – Rumania June 5, 1942
So basically, 11 times for 5 reasons.
Sorry, wars, not wards.
Thanks, Chandeleur. I missed the other declarations that you identified, particularly the one against Italy in World War II, when I searched.
In addition to the 11 listed by Chandeleur, there probably was one more. On either 2 or 3 Mar 1815, there may have been a declaration of war against Algiers. The last time I researched this, I wasn’t able to find the text of the resolution that Congress passed, so I couldn’t tell for sure. Descriptions usually refer to it as more of an ultimatum than an actual declaration of war.
Not a declaration of war. The act was An Act for the Protection of the Commerce of the United States Against the Algerine Cruisers, 3 Stat. 230 (Mar. 3, 1815), passed in the 13th Congress’s closing hours. You can find the text online at this site.
Sorry, but the link that I posted for the Statutes at Large is evidently broken. Try this link and click “Browse Statutes at Large.”
OK, thanks brianmelendez. I found the text.
While that act does not formally declare war, it seems to be a de facto declaration. And in fact uses the phrase “state of war” at one point.
This link will get an image of the page with the text of the act.
If you define a “declaration of war” in a way broad enough that it includes An Act for the Protection of the Commerce of the United States Against the Algerine Cruisers, then doesn’t such a broad definition also sweep in the Gulf of Tonkin resolution? And the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002?
Not to mention the original Gulf War of 199(1?). There was also a vote in Congress that passed, authorizing the use of force for Round 1.
From the aboved .pdf, there is listed “Congressionally Authorized Military Engagements”.