Background information

Congress is the only way for the US to declare war: The only legal way for the US to declare war is through a resolution that Congress passes. Only once the resolution passes Congress can the President sign the declaration into law. This has occured 11 times up to and including World War II. Since then other forms of militart authorizations have been used instead of full scale declarations of war :

  • Great Britain - June 17, 1812 - Senate vote 19-13
  • Mexico - May 12, 1846 - Senate vote 40-2
  • Spain - April 25, 1898 - Senate vote UC
  • Germany - April 4, 1917 - Senate vote 82-6
  • Austria-Hungary - December 7, 1917 - Senate vote 74-0
  • Japan - December 8, 1941 - Senate vote 82-0
  • Germany - Dec ember11, 1941 - Senate vote 88-0
  • Italy - December 11, 1941 - Senate vote 90-0
  • Bulgaria - June 4, 1942 - Senate vote 73-0
  • Hungary - June 4, 1942 - Senate vote 73-0
  • Rumania - June 4, 1942 - Senate vote 73-0
(Table from US Senate government webpage (as of Feb 5th, 2025)

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Sources

Declarations of War by the US Congress

(Online details here.)

U.S. Senate about Declarations of War by Congress

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