War and Constitutional Separation of Powers
War Powers of Congress
The powers of each branch of government reflect the roles and virtues of each branch, and this is especially true when it comes to war powers. Of the three branches, Congress holds the greatest number of powers when it comes to war. It is the only branch that can declare war, and it has the power to make funding and many other decisions about how war will be conducted. As the Constitution says:
In part, Article I, Section 8 states that, “The Congress shall have the power…
- “To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;
- “To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;
- “To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
- “To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;
- “To provide and maintain a navy;
- “To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;
- “To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;
- “To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
- “To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.”