Collection

War Powers

The intoxicating power of war-making, James Madison explained, was too great to be entrusted to any one man: “The strongest passions, and most dangerous weaknesses of the human breast; ambition, avarice, vanity, the honorable or venial love of fame, are all in conspiracy against the desire and duty of peace.” True as that may be, American presidents have steadily chipped away at the legislature’s war-making powers in the intervening two-plus centuries. Very few people can remember the last time Congress officially declared war, despite the U.S. military’s near-constant overseas activities since the end of WWII.

How has it come to pass that a U.S. president could initiate a war on the scale of the 2026 Iran war, without even attempting to make the case to Congress? Below, you’ll find stories that explain what motivated Congress to reassert its war powers in the waning days of the Vietnam War, and why that reassertion didn’t end up amounting to much. But you’ll also find a piece questioning how much the procedural question really matters, and another that suggests that presidents have been usurping Congress’ war making power since the office of the presidency has existed.

This collection was featured in Continuum, the joint newsletter of Bunk and HNN, on March 12, 2026: https://tinyurl.com/Continuum3-12-26

Updated by Continuum on May 13, 2026. First created May 12, 2026.

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The History of Macho Presidents

A survey of presidential unilateralism going all the way back to the nation‘s founding.

by Alexander DeConde via HNN on September 16, 2002

A survey of presidential unilateralism going all the way back to the nation‘s founding.

It Will Take More Than Congress to Cure America’s War Addiction

All that talk about "reclaiming" congressional war powers? Historically, Congress has applauded presidential wars.

by Gunar Olsen via The New Republic on February 6, 2019

All that talk about “reclaiming” congressional war powers? Historically, Congress has applauded presidential wars.

Portrait of George Washington on a horse.

Declaring War

Congress hasn't declared it often. The U.S. has fought a lot of war anyway. How?

by William Hogeland via Hogeland's Bad History on March 2, 2022

Congress hasn‘t declared it often. The U.S. has fought a lot of war anyway. How?

Richard Nixon pointing to a map of Cambodia.

The Unhappy Legal History of the War Powers Resolution

How the law became a staging ground for unrestrained war.

by Mary L. Dudziak via Modern American History on July 8, 2023

How the law became a staging ground for unrestrained war.

Cartographic depiction of the Union armies Anaconda plan shows a snake wrapping around the American South.

The President's Awesome War Powers

Where they come from, how they've evolved, and how they could change.

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky via Imperfect Union on July 15, 2025

Where they come from, how they‘ve evolved, and how they could change.

War Powers to the People

Louis Ludlow’s war referendum amendment was the high-water mark of American antiwar populism.

by Hunter DeRensis via The American Conservative on September 1, 2025

Louis Ludlow’s war referendum amendment was the high-water mark of American antiwar populism.

Black and white photograph of George Sutherland.

How the Supreme Court Enabled Trump's Unilateral War on Iran

For almost a century, the U.S. Supreme Court has been incredibly solicitous of executive power in foreign affairs.

by Steve Kennedy via Liberal Currents on March 2, 2026

For almost a century, the U.S. Supreme Court has been incredibly solicitous of executive power in foreign affairs.

The End of Limits on a President’s Wars

Past conflicts eroded Congress’s ability to decide when to go to war. Donald Trump’s attack on Iran destroyed it.

by Ruth Marcus via The New Yorker on March 5, 2026

Past conflicts eroded Congress’s ability to decide when to go to war. Donald Trump’s attack on Iran destroyed it.