4 ms·

Traditionally during times of war the US Constitution does not apply. This used to mean an official vote by the Senate[1], but since WWII the US decided that we

Traditionally during times of war the US Constitution does not apply. This used to mean an official vote by the Senate[1], but since WWII the US decided that we no long would have wars with other countries. We renamed the War department the Defense department in 1947 and have not have a declared war since. Instead the Congress passes resolutions authorizing the use of military force. Presidents sometimes claim this gives them "War" powers and the Supreme court sometimes agree. An unfortunate state of affairs, I would say, especially now with the forever "war" on terror. It would have been great if when the Department of Homeland Security was created it was called the Department of Defense and the Department of Defense reclaimed its true name, Department of War. I wonder if this idea and practice of renaming something to try and change the nature of a thing started around then, or if it has a much older history. [1]https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/WarDeclarationsbyCongress.htm https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_a...

dragonwriter 8y ago
> Traditionally during times of war the US Constitution does not apply. False. > This used to mean an official vote by the Senate No, it didn't. A time of war doesn't require a declaration of war, and while a declaration of war does involve a vote in the Senate, it's not just the Senate, but the Congress (by normal legislative process, e.g., both houses plus the President, or with a subsequent supermajority in the event of a veto, though it's hard to imagine Congress declaring war over a veto.) > but since WWII the US decided that we no long would have wars with other countries. No, we didn't. Hence, well, lots of post-WWII war-related legislation, including the War Powers Act. > Instead the Congress passes resolutions authorizing the use of military force. Which are exercises if the power to declare war, which requires no special magic words, just like sky other legislative power.
- njarboe 8y ago
  I stand corrected. Thanks.
godelski 8y ago
The really hard thing is to act moral when we are afraid. It's easy to say how moral and righteous we are in times of peace, but when stuff goes wrong then a lot of people will give up freedom for a sense of security (you may have heard a really famous quote about this). With Japan I think everyone admits it wasn't the moral thing to do, but many argue that it was a necessary evil. And you should be wary when you hear those arguments, so we don't repeat history.

dragonwriter 8y ago

> Traditionally during times of war the US Constitution does not apply. False. > This used to mean an official vote by the Senate No, it didn't. A time of war doesn't require a declaration of war, and while a declaration of war does involve a vote in the Senate, it's not just the Senate, but the Congress (by normal legislative process, e.g., both houses plus the President, or with a subsequent supermajority in the event of a veto, though it's hard to imagine Congress declaring war over a veto.) > but since WWII the US decided that we no long would have wars with other countries. No, we didn't. Hence, well, lots of post-WWII war-related legislation, including the War Powers Act. > Instead the Congress passes resolutions authorizing the use of military force. Which are exercises if the power to declare war, which requires no special magic words, just like sky other legislative power.

njarboe 8y ago
I stand corrected. Thanks.

godelski 8y ago

The really hard thing is to act moral when we are afraid. It's easy to say how moral and righteous we are in times of peace, but when stuff goes wrong then a lot of people will give up freedom for a sense of security (you may have heard a really famous quote about this). With Japan I think everyone admits it wasn't the moral thing to do, but many argue that it was a necessary evil. And you should be wary when you hear those arguments, so we don't repeat history.