When was the last time the U.S. actually declared war?

[Tab]

By declaring war, I mean congress passing a war act.

I'm pretty sure we didn't do it post 9/11. I think in the Vietnamese war we were sending in "advisors". I'm not a war historian, but I think we have to go back to WWII and the declarations of war back then.

Am I wrong? Or have declarations of war ceased to have any meaning when we couch them in nuances?

[malthaussen]

1. Depends on your definition.

Last edited Sat Jul 11, 2015, 06:01 PM - Edit history (1)

If you mean officially, diplomatically declared that a state of war exists between our nation and another, not since 1942. But the 2013 decision by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Doe v Bush can be interpreted to mean that the AUMF and similar documents can be construed as a declaration of war.

-- Mal

[jschurchin]

2. Your Correct. WWII, nt.

[libdem4life]

3. Here's some info to chew on.

http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/interventions.html

FROM WOUNDED KNEE TO SYRIA:

A CENTURY OF U.S. MILITARY INTERVENTIONS

by Dr. Zoltan Grossman

The following is a partial list of U.S. military interventions from 1890 to 2014.

Below the list is a Briefing on the History of U.S. Military Interventions.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Hardly anyone has declared war since WW2 in the old-fashioned way

The last declaration of the war would be by the Soviet Union against Japan… two days after the bombing of Hiroshima (better late than never).

Most Recent Declarations

Since World War Two, formal declarations of war have become the exception rather than the rule. This is the case, despite the 1907 Hague Convention that forbids states to attack one another without first issuing what the agreement calls “previous and explicit warnings” and then signaling their intentions to fight to the wider international community. Despite the participation of Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States in the treaty, most states have frequently ignored the convention’s war making protocols. According to some, at best, declarations are seen as a pointless formality, at worst they give advance warning to an enemy of an impending attack. Not surprisingly, the Korean and Vietnam wars were undeclared, as was Britain’s war against Argentina and the Soviet war in Afghanistan.(SEE MARTIN GIBSON’s COMMENTS BELOW) As the AP article points out, America hasn’t issued a formal war declaration since announcing a state of hostilities against Romania (a Nazi ally) in June of 1942.

The handful instances of formal declarations since the Second World War include Panama’s 1989 announcement of war with the U.S., a 2006 announcement of hostilities by Chad against Sudan, and last year’s announcement by Sudan that it was in a state of conflict with South Sudan.

http://militaryhistorynow.com/2013/02/15/declarations-of-war-who-do-so-many-countries-fight-without-them/

The 'comments below' are about actions under UN Security Council resolutions - Korea, the Falklands. I think the 1990s Gulf War (ie after the invasion of Kuwait) would come under that too.