![handle is hein.crs/goveqtv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: The Declare War Clause, Part 1: Overview and
Introduction
September 30, 2024
This Legal Sidebar is the first installment in an eight-part series that discusses the Declare War Clause in
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution, which grants Congress the power To declare War,
grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water[.] The
power to take the nation to war is a central element of the Constitution's scheme of war powers, but
interpretation of the Declare War Clause is complex and evolving. This Sidebar series discusses the
Supreme Court's jurisprudence related to declarations of war and highlights interbranch practices that
illuminate the executive and legislative branches' sometimes differing interpretations of the clause.
Part 2 of this series discusses the Declare War Clause's background, drafting, and ratification history. Part
3 introduces authorizations for use of military and force and examines the ongoing debate over initiating
military action. Parts 4 through 8 cover relevant jurisprudence and interbranch practice by surveying early
American conflicts; the Civil War; the Spanish-American War through the Second World War; the Cold
War and Korean War; and the Vietnam War through 2 1st-century conflicts. Additional information on
Congress's war powers and the President's powers as Commander-in-Chief can be found in the
Constitution Annotated.
Overview of Congressional War Powers
When the Framers of the Constitution gathered in Philadelphia to draft the document that would become
the Constitution, one of their principal objectives was to improve the United States' ability to ensure its
peace and security through military force, if necessary. In line with that aim, the Constitution's Preamble
makes securing the common defense one of the Union's principal purposes, and the articles that follow
the Preamble allocate broad control over national security to the federal government while denying most
war powers to the states.
Although courts and commentators occasionally discuss the war power as if it were a unified authority,
the Supreme Court has explained that the Constitution spells out the war powers not in a single, simple
phrase, but in many broad, interrelated provisions. In Article I, the Constitution empowers Congress to
provide for the common defense through a series of enumerated war and national security powers. Central
among these is Clause 11 of Article I, Section 8, which authorizes Congress to declare war. Clause 11 also
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
LSB11230
CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/goveqtv0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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