The Kings Of War How Our Modern Presidents Hijacked Congress S War Making Powers And What To Do About It

The thesis of this book is that our modern Presidents have hijacked Congress's constitutional war-making powers, making themselves the "kings of war." Under the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war. However, beginning with President Truman, our Presidents have claimed the "inherent" power as commanders in chief to commit the nation to war without congressional authorization. This power grab has had a profound effect on the balance of power between Congress and the presidency. It is the key ingredient in our current "executive-centric" national government. The book first explores how and why this happened. It begins with an historical account of the Constitutional Convention's treatment of the war-making power and the system adopted by the framers that divided the responsibilities between Congress (which decided whether war should be conducted) and the President (who conducted the war, subject to Congress's on-going power of the purse). There is a major chapter on the Northwest Indian War, under the Washington administration, which was the first war fought under the Constitution. Washington presided at the Constitutional Convention and believed that the decision to go to war was committed to Congress. Accordingly, as that war unfolded, Washington repeatedly went to Congress to request the resources he needed to fight the war. The book then explores the drastic change in that system beginning with President Truman's unilateral decision to commit the nation to war on the Korean Peninsula, and its development through the Cold War, the Vietnam War and finally President George W. Bush's most aggressive claim to the President's war powers in the invasion of Iraq in 2003. There is also a chapter on the special constitutional challenges presented by the advent of nuclear weapons. The book ends with an analysis of the factors that have allowed the presidency's power grab and proposes a legislative agenda to restore the war powers system to the one enshrined in the Constitution.

Nearly five hundred times in the past century, American presidents have deployed the nation's military abroad, on missions ranging from embassy evacuations to full-scale wars. The question of whether Congress has effectively limited the president's power to do so has generally met with a resounding "no." In While Dangers Gather, William Howell and Jon Pevehouse reach a very different conclusion. The authors--one an American politics scholar, the other an international relations scholar--provide the most comprehensive and compelling evidence to date on Congress's influence on presidential war powers. Their findings have profound implications for contemporary debates about war, presidential power, and Congress's constitutional obligations. While devoting special attention to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, this book systematically analyzes the last half-century of U.S. military policy. Among its conclusions: Presidents are systematically less likely to exercise military force when their partisan opponents retain control of Congress. The partisan composition of Congress, however, matters most for proposed deployments that are larger in size and directed at less strategically important locales. Moreover, congressional influence is often achieved not through bold legislative action but through public posturing--engaging the media, raising public concerns, and stirring domestic and international doubt about the United States' resolve to see a fight through to the end.

Between Lincoln and FDR, the Presidency and the United States come of age In the wake of the Civil War, fourteen men will succeed Abraham Lincoln and attempt to reunify the United States. As their personal tales intertwine and overlap on their way to the Presidency, they defer to Congress until it is clear that Democrats and Republicans are more concerned with the prerogatives of power and patronage than Lincoln's pledge of freedom and opportunity for all Americans. The 19th-century Presidents battle with Congress to reform how jobs and other benefits are dispensed, while the Presidents of the early 20th century find themselves presiding over a country that has transitioned from an agricultural economy-supported by slave and immigrant labor-to an industrial economy generating the wealth that thrusts the country onto the world stage. Through it all, the Presidents continue the novel practice of handing over power peacefully, even in the face of a Depression that will challenge the United States' newfound status as a world power. "Brad McKim is a masterful storyteller. He seamlessly wove the stories of our first 15 presidents together into a compelling, interesting, and informative narrative." -Scott Barker, Author, The Kings of War: How Our Modern Presidents Hijacked Congress' War-Making Powers and What to Do About It "McKim weaves fascinating stories of presidential lives from their youth through early love affairs and careers, into political prominence. Not a retelling of common knowledge, this book reveals a fabric of personal stories not found in high school history books." -Jeff Bensch, Author, History of American Holidays "I have read countless books on the country's chief executives and I learned something about each president that I never knew before. I could not put A Presidents Story down and can't wait to read the sequel!" -Bradley Nahrstadt, Author, Alton B. Parker: The Man Who Challenged Roosevelt

Calls for revisions to the Constitution to restore equity for ordinary citizens and offers proposals to reinvigorate the document to incorporate changes to the structure of Congress, the Electoral College, the Supreme Court, and a mandatory national service.

This study provides a balanced and scholarly analysis of the war powers controversy, a controversy as old as the Constitution and as current as the conflicts in the Persian Gulf and the Balkans. The work examines the debates among the Founding Fathers, Congressional and United Nations resolutions, communications between the Executive and Congress, as well as other issues surrounding the use of military force in foreign conflicts. The author considers the impact on the war powers controversy of the ways in which warfare has changed: from conventional to electronic and from major ground force actions to swift air strikes and rapid response troop deployments. Particularly relevant is the author's examination of war powers in the present time of overall world peace but sporadic regional conflict, the context in which the struggle between Congress and the Executive over war-making limits and constraints continues. This work will be of interest to scholars and students alike in American government, politics, and military studies.

One of the key issues facing our republic in this century is the exercise of presidential war powers. The constitutional structure which gives the Congress responsibility for declaring war is being challenged and some would argue usurped by a succession of modern, aggressive commander-in-chief presidents. This book examines many aspects of this problem and places it in historical context, analysing both pre-modern and post-modern presidencies. One thing is clear, a return to the original constitutional order will take an enormous effort on the part of our leaders and their people.

Ronald Reagan's term in office was punctuated by four significant employments of military force: the deployment of Marines to Lebanon; the intervention in Grenada; the air strikes against Libya; and the deployment of naval forces to the Persian Gulf. In the aftermath of each of these military operations, critics questioned the constitutional basis for such unilateral presidential war-making, arguing that Congress alone is empowered to declare war. Debates over whether the President failed to comply with the statutory requirements of the War Powers Resolution further complicated these constitutional disagreements. In The Reagan Wars, David Hall seeks to overcome a key source of confusion in these heated debates - the failure to distinguish between the wisdom of Reagan's actions and their legality. He demonstrates that the circumstances under which the Constitution permits unilateral presidential war-making were present when President Reagan waged war between 1980 and 1988. Hall first considers the thinking of the Constitution's Framers on the question of war powers and the subsequent two hundred years of judicial interpretation regarding the proper balance between congressional and presidential authority to make war. In light of this historical background, he then closely examines the facts and the legal circumstances of each of the four "Reagan wars." Hall's thought-provoking conclusions deserve the attention of anyone interested in the role of the Constitution in U.S. foreign policy-making.

During President Barack Obama's first term in office, the United States expanded its military presence in Afghanistan and increased drone missile strikes across Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The administration also deployed the military to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean, engaged in a sustained bombing operation in Libya, and deployed U.S. Special Forces in Central Africa to capture or kill Joseph Kony. In these cases, President Obama decided to use force without congressional approval. Yet, this increased executive power has not been achieved simply by the presidential assertion of such powers. It has also been supported by a group of senators and representatives who, for political reasons that stem from constant campaigning, seek to avoid responsibility for military action abroad. In this revealing book, Ryan C. Hendrickson examines President Obama's use of force in his first term with four major case studies. He demonstrates that, much like his predecessors, Obama has protected the executive branch's right not only to command, but also to determine when and where American forces are deployed. He also considers the voting records of Democrat John Kerry and Republican John McCain in the Senate, detailing how both men have played leading roles in empowering the commander-in-chief while limiting Congress's influence on military decision-making. Obama at War establishes that the imperial presidency poses significant foreign policy risks, and concludes with possible solutions to restore a more meaningful balance of power. The first book on the constitutional and political relationship between President Obama and the U.S. Congress and the use of military force, this timely reassessment of war powers provides a lucid examination of executive privilege and legislative deference in the modern American republic.