War & Peace - Whose Power Is It?
The War Powers Struggle Between
the President and Congress
Constitutionally
Speaking:
War Powers
War Powers - President
Commander in Chief of the Army & Navy
Commander in Chief of the state militias (now the
National Guard)
Commission all
officers
Appoint ambassadors,
ministers and consuls
Make treaties subject
to senate confirmation
Receive ambassadors
War Powers - Congress
 Declare war
 Raise & support army
& navy
 Ratify treaties (Senate)
 Advise & consent of
ambassadors (Senate)
 Make rules concerning
captures on land &
water
 Organize, arm, train &
provide for the militia
 Suppress insurrections
& repel invasions
The War Powers Resolution
1. President must consult w/
Congress before introducing
armed forces into hostilities
2. Consult with Congress
regularly until troops removed
3. If war not declared, President
must submit report to
Congress within 48 hours of
troop deployment
4. President must remove troops
after 60 days (+30 days for
withdrawal) if Congress has
not declared war
War Powers:
The Supreme Court Weighs In
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The Prize Cases
(1862)
Korematsu v. United
States (1944)
Youngstown Sheet &
Tube Co. v. Sawyer
(1951)
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
(2005)
The Prize Cases (1862)
 Key Issue: Did President Lincoln act within his
presidential powers when he blockaded southern
ports without a declaration of war?
 Court’s Decision: The President
had the power to act because a state
of war existed.
 Discussion Question: Does this
case expand or limit the war powers
of the President and/or Congress?
Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)
 Key Issue: Did the Present, with the support of Congress, have
the power to restrict the rights of Japanese Americans by
relocating them to internment camps?
 Court’s Decision: The government’s limitation of rights was
justified during a time of
“emergency and peril.”
 Discussion Question: Does
this case expand or limit the
war powers of the President
and/or Congress?
Youngstown Sheet Co. v. Sawyer (1951)
 Key Issue: Did President Truman have the power to seize &
operate steel mills to avert a strike during the Korean War?
 Court’s Decision: The President
did not have the authority to seize
private property without a
congressional statute.
 Discussion Question: Does this
case expand or limit the war
powers of the President and/or
Congress?
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2005)
 Key Issues: 1) Were the military commissions set up by the Bush
administration to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay constitutional?
2) Can Congress pass legislation preventing the Supreme Court
from hearing the case?
 Court’s Decision: Neither an act of
Congress nor the inherent powers of
the President authorize military
commissions that do not comply with
US and international laws.
 Discussion Question: Does this
case expand or limit the war powers
of the President and/or Congress?
Artist: Bob Matson
Date: 3/30/07
Source: http://themoderatevoice.com/category/politics/legislation/page/2/
Artist: Mike Lane
Date: 5/1/07
Source: http://themoderatevoice.com/category/politics/harry-reid/
Artist: Patrick Chappatte
Date: 9/12/07
Source:
http://www.cagle.com/news/Petraeu
sReport/4.asp
Artist: Michael Ramiez
Date: 9/12/07
Source: http://cagle.msnbc.com/politicalcartoons/PCcartoons/ramirez.asp