War Powers: How the Imperial Presidency Hijacked the ConstitutionMacmillan, 2006 M05 2 - 320 pages A "compelling and unnerving" assessment of how the Constitution has been distorted to accomodate the drive to empire (The Washington Post) Concerned about the dangers of unchecked executive power, the Founding Fathers deliberately assigned Congress the sole authority to make war. But the last time Congress did so was in 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor--since then, every president from Harry Truman to George W. Bush has used military force in pursuit of imperial objectives without congressional authorization. In vivid detail, War Powers recounts this story of subversion from above. Drawing on congressional hearings, Supreme Court opinions, media reports, and scholarly accounts, legal historian Peter Irons examines how the Constitution has been stretched, distorted, and violated as presidents usurped a shared, solemn power--eschewing congressional approval and often suspending civil liberties in the process. An insightful and rousing history, War Powers takes us up to the recent preemptive invasion of Iraq, offering a necessary account of our most pressing contemporary constitutional crisis. |
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Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Power of War and Peace | 11 |
Congressional Authority in the New Nation | 28 |
Seizing a Continental Empire | 45 |
The Civil War | 66 |
The Birth of Imperial America | 87 |
The War to End All Wars | 102 |
The Birth of the Imperial Presidency | 120 |
The Imperial | 157 |
Vietnam | 180 |
From the Gulf | 205 |
The American | 221 |
Conclusion | 263 |
Notes | 275 |
Suggested Readings and Sources | 287 |
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War Powers: How the Imperial Presidency Hijacked the Constitution Peter Irons No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
Afghanistan al Qaeda American citizens American empire American troops armed army attacks authority British Bush administration Camp X-Ray Chief Justice Civil claims commander in chief Confederate conflict Congress congressional approval Constitution Constitution's Cuba decision defense delegates Democrat detention draft enemy combatants Ex parte Milligan executive federal courts foreign policy Framers George H. W. Bush German Guantánamo Bay habeas corpus Hamdi Hussein ibid imperial presidency invasion Iraq Iraqi issue Japanese Americans Jefferson judicial Korean Korematsu later lawyers leaders legislative Lincoln Madison Mexican military action military forces Milligan nation naval officials opinion peace political Polk Powers Resolution President Bush protect Qaeda question Republican Roosevelt ruling Saddam Hussein secretary Senate ships sion Soviet Supreme Court Taliban Taney territory terror terrorist tion treaty Truman Union United Vietnam Vietnam War Vietnamese vote war on terror War Powers Resolution wartime Washington White House Wilson wrote