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exercise of Presidential wartime authority within the nation and its use outside the nation?
Initially, the matter of whether the Congress or the President would have the war power
was considered by the Convention’s Committee of Detail. The Committee specifically
assigned the power to “make” war to Congress. However, the Committee also designated
the President as the commander in chief of the Army, Navy and the state militias. (Collier
and Collier, 330)
On August 17, 1787, the delegates began arguing the war power, as it was
conceived at that point. Delegate Charles Pinckney predicted that the lower house would
work too slowly and, with that in mind, he proposed that the Senate should have the sole
power to make war. He also maintained that the Senate would be more knowledgeable
about foreign affairs and, therefore, be more capable of producing proper resolutions
regarding the making of any such war. Pierce Butler of South Carolina disagreed that the
Senate would work faster than the lower house, but he suggested that the President
should make the decisions of war, not the Congress. James Madison and Elbridge Gerry
proposed to the delegates that the word “make” be changed to “declare”. Madison argued
that having the Congress declare war, instead of making war, would allow the President
the flexibility he would need to “repel” any sudden attacks by an enemy without waiting
for a declaration of war from the Congress. Under Madison’s reasoning, a President
could engage in military actions to defend the nation from an abrupt attack by an enemy,
but if the President were to want to engage in offensive maneuvers, he would need the
authority provided by a declaration of war. Delegate Roger Sherman concurred with
Madison that the President should have the authority to fend off an enemy attack on the
nation, but not to instigate a war. (Collier and Collier, 330)
Convention