Looking Backward to Understand the Present

Most of you know that I often consult the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, and once again I seek their prospective.  In the process of gaining our freedom from England, the Founding Fathers determined that they did not want one man to control our nation.  As they formed the documents that would guide our nation, they debated and argued, but it was clear to them that Americans did not want power in a single person like a king. 

They had also learned in the years of gaining their freedom from England that they did not want constant warfare, nor large standing armies.  To assure that, the Constitution gave Congress, not the President, the power to declare war.  Thomas Jefferson saw war as an ineffective, costly solution, sometimes worsening the problem, rather than resolving it.  While the Founding Fathers did not refuse war entirely, they saw it as a sort of last option.  Between 1798 and 1942, Congress formally declared war only 11 times.  

Formal Declarations of War ceased, and Congress began authorizing military force against specific targets or in specific regions. Modern Presidents have reached for more independent authority; however, after Vietnam, efforts were made to tighten presidential action, with the War Powers Resolution, requiring that the President must notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops into hostilities, plus the requirement that troops be withdrawn within 60 to 90 days, unless Congress declares war, authorizes the force, or extends the deadline. 

Obviously, the world has changed over decades, and the ability to move more quickly is far beyond capabilities the Founding Fathers could have imagined.  Even so, it remains that Congress has the sole power to declare war.  Thomas Jeffersons's idea that every citizen should be a soldier, capable of protecting when needed, but as a citizen, not a professional soldier, is an idea of the past.  As for Washington's perspective, today's soldiers would probably agree that "When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen."  However, our citizen soldiers of today serve as career soldiers.  Today's U.S, Military is about 2.1 million, with approximately 760,000 to 800,000 reserve and National Guard. (These numbers are subject to change.)  Even with those numbers, we are not the largest military in the world today.   Both China and India are larger, and North Korea and Russia are not far behind.    

Our soldiers serve bravely for our country, but we as citizens owe them the responsibility to pay attention to the manner in which they are being used.,