Legislative power

Declare war & raise the military

Congress declares war, raises and funds the armed forces, and writes the rules that govern them. The framers split the war power deliberately: Congress decides whether to fight; the President commands the fighting.

Article I, Section 8, Clauses 11-16

Read the clause itself, verbatim and in plain language, in the in-app Constitution.

Held by

Congress

U.S. Representative U.S. Senator

How it works in practice

Formal declarations are rare (five wars, none since 1942); modern conflicts run on authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs), appropriationA law permitting federal agencies to spend money. The Constitution forbids any spending without one, Congress's 'power of the purse'.Read the full definition (opens a new tab), and the contested 1973 War Powers ResolutionThe 1973 law requiring the President to report the introduction of forces into hostilities within 48 hours and to withdraw them within 60 days absent authorization.Read the full definition (opens a new tab), which requires notice to Congress and a 60-day clock on unauthorized hostilities. The two-year limit on army appropriations keeps the military on a congressional leash.

The answering checks

The PresidentCommands operations as Commander in ChiefThe President's constitutional role at the head of the armed forces. It governs how force is used, while Congress holds the power to declare war and to fund it.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) and has, in practice, initiated hostilities Congress never declared.

The courtsLargely stay out of war-powers disputes as political questions, leaving the branches to fight it out.

See it in the app

Source

Constitution Annotated, Declare War Clause

Plain-language civic education, not legal advice. The live boundaries of this power are set case by case; the sources above and the constitutional text control.