War Powers Act

(noun)

A federal law intended to check the President's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress.

Related Terms

Examples of War Powers Act in the following topics:

  • Congress

    • Two constitutional clauses, the Constitution and Foreign Commerce Clause and the War Power Clause, give Congress foreign policy powers.
    • Congress is given several powers to engage in foreign policy, but also to check the president's actions foreign policy, especially in the event of war.
    • Perhaps the most important powers are in the War Power Clause which was given to Congress in the Constitution and Foreign Commerce Clause.
    • They believe this because no amendment with two-thirds majority of states has changed the original intent to make the War Powers Resolution legally binding.
    • Evaluate the War Powers Clause and how the United States' process of declaring and entering into war has changed over time, identifying the general role that Congress plays in making and coordinating foreign policy

  • The Philippine-American War

    • The Philippine-American War, also known as the "Philippine War of Independence" or the "Philippine Insurrection" (1899–1902), was an armed conflict between the United States and Filipino revolutionaries.
    • Under the 1902 "Philippine Organic Act," passed by the U.S.
    • But it was not until 14 years later, with the passage of the 1916 Philippine Autonomy Act (or "Jones Act"), that the United States officially promised eventual independence, along with more Philippine control in the meantime over the Philippines.
    • The 1934 Philippine Independence Act created in the following year the Commonwealth of the Philippines, a limited form of independence, and established a process ending in Philippine independence (originally scheduled for 1944, but interrupted and delayed by World War II).
    • Anti-imperialist movements claimed that the United States had become a colonial power by replacing Spain as the colonial power in the Philippines.

  • A World War

    • The Seven Years War was a global military war involved most of the great global powers of the time, which affected European colonies.
    • The Seven Years War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines (.
    • In many respects, the two powers' forces complemented each other excellently.
    • In marked contrast to France, Britain strove to actively prosecute the war in the colonies, taking full advantage of its naval power.
    • The Quebec Act of 1774, similarly intended to win over the loyalty of French Canadians, also spurred resentment among American colonists.

  • America and WWI

    • Among these were the Smith-Lever Act, and Fuel and Food Control Act, the U.S.
    • Once the U.S. openly joined the war, Congress worked to ensure that Americans at home and abroad had sufficient resources, and thus Congress adopted the Fuel and Food Control Act in 1917.
    • Using the authority of the 1917 Act, President Wilson issued Executive Order 2679A, creating the U.S.
    • Headed by future president Herbert Hoover, the Food Administration was tasked with assuring the supply, distribution, and conservation of food during the war, facilitating transportation of food, preventing monopolies and hoarding, and maintaining governmental power over foods by using voluntary agreements and a licensing system.
    • Distinguish the purposes of the Smith-Lever Act, the Fuel and Food Control Act, the U.S.

  • British Taxes and Colonial Grievances

    • The expenses from the French and Indian War caused the British to impose taxes on the American colonies.
    • After the French and Indian War, the British needed to find a way to repay war debt.
    • Following the Quartering Act, Parliament passed one of the most infamous pieces of legislation: the Stamp Act.
    • Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but passed the Declaratory Act in its wake.
    • The Declaratory Act stated that Great Britain retained the power to tax the colonists without substantive representation.

  • The "Reign of Witches"

    • The "Reign of Witches" was a descriptive catchphrase used by Democratic-Republicans to criticize the Federalist Alien and Sedition Acts.
    • "The Reign of Witches" is a termed used by Democrat-Republicans to describe the Federalist party and John Adams after the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
    • In addition to the Alien and Sedition Acts, Democratic-Republicans cited the increasing size of a standing army, the Quasi-War with France, and a general expansion of federal power as evidence of the Federalists' corrupt designs for the United States.
    • The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress, in the midst of the French Revolution and the undeclared naval war with France, the Quasi-War.
    • Despite the XYZ Affair and the Quasi War, which had incited francophobic sentiment in the majority of the American public, Democrat-Republicans remained pro-French and outspoken critics of the Federalist administration.

  • Degrees of Neutrality

    • Despite an official position of neutrality declared in the Neutrality Act of 1939, the U.S. consistently supported the Allied forces.
    • During World War II, these countries took no official side during the war in their hopes to avoid being attacked by the Axis Powers or in becoming involved the aerial attacks of the Axis and Allied Powers.
    • Spanish volunteers fought for both the Allied and the Axis powers, reflecting the divisions of Spain's own, recent civil war.
    • In November 1939, the American Neutrality Act was amended to allow "cash and carry" purchases by the Allies (described in Module 33.3.2).
    • Head of the Spanish state during World War II, Franco supposedly remained neutral, but favored the Axis powers

  • World War II

    • Between 1936 and 1937, much to the dismay of the pro-British President Roosevelt, Congress passed the Neutrality Acts.
    • In the final Neutrality Act, Americans could not sail on ships flying the flag of a belligerent nation or trade arms with warring nations, potential causes for U.S. entry into war.
    • Interventionists were afraid of a world after this war, a world where they would have to coexist with the fascist power of Europe.
    • Although a minority, they were well organized, and had a powerful presence in Congress.
    • This policy was quickly dubbed "Cash and Carry. " The second phase was the Lend-Lease Act of early 1941.

  • The Alien and Sedition Acts

    • The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the midst of the French Revolution and during the undeclared naval war with France, known as the Quasi-War.
    • The Naturalization Act repealed and replaced the Naturalization Act of 1795 and extended the duration of residence required for aliens to become citizens of the United States from five years to fourteen years.
    • The Alien Enemies Act authorized the president to apprehend and deport resident aliens if their home countries were at war with the United States.
    • Lyon accused the administration of "ridiculous pomp, foolish adulation, and selfish avarice," and claimed that Adams had "a continual grasp for power."
    • While the Alien and Sedition Acts were left largely unenforced after 1800, the Alien Act was later used to justify the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and the Supreme Court was grappling with the constitutionality of the Sedition Acts as late as the 1960s.

  • The Quasi-War

    • The Quasi-War strengthened the U.S. navy, helped expand American commercial networks in the Caribbean, and enabled the development of the military powers necessary to protect these networks.
    • In response, Adams and the Federalist Congress passed the unpopular Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798.
    • Essentially, these acts restricted the free-speech rights of the opposing Democratic-Republicans by censoring anti-Federalist writings.
    • The Quasi-War remains an ambiguous precedent for the separation of military powers between the executive and legislative branches.
    • This ambiguity over the distribution of war powers between the executive branch and Congress has persisted well into the twenty-first century.