War Powers of the Executive in the United States

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III MILITARY MEASURES SHORT OF WAR By virtue of his position as Commander-in-Chief, as well as by authority of other constitutional and statutory provisions, the President may undertake numerous military measures that are short of actual war. In the firsT place, there are many instances i in which...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III MILITARY MEASURES SHORT OF WAR By virtue of his position as Commander-in-Chief, as well as by authority of other constitutional and statutory provisions, the President may undertake numerous military measures that are short of actual war. In the firsT place, there are many instances i in which he may employ the armed forces to aid the civil authorities within the United States. Thus, for example, the constitutional clause guaranteeing to every state a republican form of government and protection against domestic violence,1 is held to give the President power to use troops, without special legislative sanction, when needed for those purposes, and even to anticipate and prevent local disturbances by a show of force.2 In 1878 an attempt was made to restrict the President's power to use the armed forces in executing the laws of the United States through an act of Congress forbidding the employment of the army as a posse comitatus, except as expressly authorized by the Constitution or by statute.3 It has been held, however, in spite of that statute, that the provisions of the Constitution vesting the President with the executive power and making it his duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,4 must be construed as giving to the President the general power of enforcing the laws and the peace of the United States by any means that he may find necessary.5 '' Congress may, by disbanding the Army, render it impossible for the President to resort to his constitutional power as executive and commander- in-chief of employing the Army in aid of the civil power, in the execution of the laws, or may couple an appropriation for the support of the Army with a condition as to the use of the money appropriated; but, if it be true that the Constitution directly ...