Constitution

United States Declarations of War

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The United States Congress has issued a formal declaration of War on 5 occasions:

  • War of 1812 vs United Kingdom (June 18, 1812 – December 24, 1814)
  • Mexican-American War vs Mexico (May 13, 1846-February 2, 1848) – Declaration of War occurred after America and Mexico had commenced hostilities.
  • Spanish-American War vs Spain (April 1898-December 10, 1898)
  • World War I vs Germany/Austria-Hungary (December 17, 1917-)
  • World War II vs Japan (Dec 8, 1941), Germany/Italy (December 11, 1941) Bulgaria/Hungary/Romania (June 5-1942).

The United States has acted militarily without prior declaration of War from Congress on at least 125 other occasions, including Korea in 1950, The Philippine-American War (1898-1903), the war against the Apache nation from around 1840-1886, Vietnam.

The “Police Actions” clause, the War Powers Act (1973) and United Nations Security Council Resolutions have been used to address questions of legality.