They Put It In Print – A U.S. President Seeks Permission…

October 27, 2025 by  
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

In the U.S., only Congress can declare war. So how many wars have Americans actually fought since World War II? You might think of the Korean War, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq, or Afghanistan. But here’s the catch: the answer is technically zero.

How can that be? Modern presidents simply avoid the word “war,” using terms like “military engagement” or “conflict” instead. No official declaration, no congressional vote—problem solved.

It wasn’t always this way. Take the War of 1812: President James Madison believed the U.S. needed to go to war with Great Britain. Did he send troops under a euphemism like “military operation”? No. He went straight to Congress with a detailed manifesto explaining why war was necessary. That document, printed in The War on June 27, 1812, shows just how seriously Madison took the Constitution’s war powers. The introduction and conclusion of his lengthy plea are shown below.

Today, renaming wars might serve convenience or strategy, but it raises a bigger question: if we can call war by any name we like, what happens to the checks and balances the Constitution set in place?

Do you think this trend is a necessary evolution—or a dangerous bypass of Congress?

 

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: Food for Thought, The 19th Century, The Collectible Community, The War of 1812
Tagged: , , ,

Comments

Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!