How many times has the U.S. Congress declared war?
923500
War of 1812, Mexican war of 1846-48, Spanish War 1898, World War I, and World War II.  I dont have a source just what I have learned throughout my life and in college, congress never declared war in any other conflict, they were just actions by president, but look it up on Wikipedia.  We never declared war in the Revolution so the person before me is wrong.  We declared independence and we had to fight for it, we did not declare war( at least not formally) because they were factions in out government that wanted to reconcile with Britain.  I do think the congress declared war on the barbary pirates but im not sure.
958778
TONS!!! Where do you want to start...the Philippines, Vietnam, Iraq, Hawaii, the Whole of the Spanish American War....Not standing up to Hitler until we were forced into war....IRAQ - twice!
1021243
actually kerry did not run on an anti war platform. he actually said he would be tough on terror which assumes continuation of the war efforts. \n\nI believe only congress can declare war. War was never declared, it was just called a police action like vietnam. One of those tricks they use to step around the rules and our rights. We havn't had an actual war since WWII. Korea, Nam, various African skirmishes, Iraq I & II, Afgahnistan; not wars. Looks like a war but what do you know right.
69996
This is an interesting question. The answer is that the US President has the power to declare war with the approval of congress.
29144
Many.  There are wars going on all the time.
131690
No, Congress never declared war on Vietnam for fear that the Chinese or Russians might intervene.  We should have never lost that war but many people say it was "a wrong" war.  We should have sent more troops to help.
566903
Where you from, la la land?\n\nHow many times has the United States gone to war without first attempting to solve problems diplomatically?  I'd say protecting our country from nuclear weapons and helping to defend entire countries is worth going to war over if necessary.
515471
Yes.  He has served in the military through 2 foreign wars.  Then he went on to serve in Congress.  And while in Congress, he had the political courage to give his opinion, even though it was unpopular.  He has done more for America than most people ever will.
43805
I have a better question:  How does the president "take us to war"? when its congress who decides?
766155
In March of 2005 there were 5 members of Congress with sons in Iraq I don't know how many there are now. \n\nRep. Joe Wilson\nRep Kit Bond\nRep. Todd Akin \nRep. Duncan Hunter \nDemocrat Tim Johnson
228232
Not enough to keep on squandering it on wars, wars, wars, and more wars. \n\nWe're going bankrupt because of those wars, wars, wars, and more wars.
83735
Too many.\n\nIn actuality, there are 536. 435 in the House, 100 in the Senate, plus the Vice President who chairs the Senate.
623309
No president has ever declared war, as they do not have the authority to declare war. That is Congress' job. However, there has never been a declaration of war since WWII. Korea was a UN deal. Johnson asked for, and got an extremely generous power from Congress in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. He was given complete authority to conduct any military action he felt necessary to 'retaliate' for a supposed attack on American ships, including the power to determine when action was no longer necessary. Interestingly, he used that power to conduct a little war in Vietnam in which many more American troops were killed than anything we have seen recently.\nPresidents since then have asked for, and generally received, similar powers. Yes, Clinton had more troops deployed in more areas. Before jumping all over Bush, you might look at how many Democrat senators and representatives readily signed on to the last resolution authorizing the president to conduct whatever measures he felt necessary to conduct military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
1130526
no, it is not. \n\nthe congress did not declare war just the president, so not it is not an actual war...\n\nI hate Bush!
554457
No. Only Congress can legally declare war, so it has the power of the sword. (Except when certain executives take that power into their own hands.)  And it's true that Congress also has the power of the purse, but only when Congress isn't full of scaredy-cats who wouldn't say boo to a goose, much less say no to a president.
425617
The short answer (for simple military action) is: nothing. The President is the commander in chief of the army. They can't unilaterally declare war (for that they need to convince Congress), but they can move the troops into smaller conflicts purely on their own information.\n\nThe longer answer is: it's complicated. Our political system is a mind-boggling mixture of lies, truth, spin, and lobbying. What information the President needs to give out to avoid losing popularity, to keep the population behind his efforts, and to keep recruiting for the armed services at an acceptable level is a really, really tough question, and varies from conflict to conflict.
881629
Congress's number changes every two years. (Each time the House starts a new term.) In 2005, the 109th Congress began. (This is what number wer are in now.) In 2007, the 110th Congress will begin.