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 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 The Prize Cases (1862) The Prize Cases (1862) Korematsu v. United States (1944) Korematsu v. United States (1944) Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1951) Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1951) Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2005) 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?

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