Supporting standards comprise 35% of the U. S. History Test

20 (A)

Supporting Standard (20)The student understands the changing

relationships among the three branches of federal government.

The Student is expected to:(A) Describe the impact of events such as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution & the War Powers

Act on the relationship between the legislative & executive branches of government

Separation of powers

French aristocrat and political philosopher Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brède et de

Montesquieu, 1689-1755 wrote the multi-volume Esprit de lois (The Spirit of Laws), 1748. Among many other ideas, Montesquieu proposed the separation of powers to insure fair and equitable government. The Founding Fathers adopted the concept and applied it

in the American Constitution. While the Founding Fathers accepted his idea of separation of powers,

they rejected Montesquieu’s position that “a republican government could not flourish in a large

territory.”

Instances of an imbalance of powers long predated both War Powers Act & the Gulf

of Tonkin Resolution

The discredit Andrew Johnson brought to the

presidency largely threw the balance of

political power to Congress until the administrations of

McKinley & Theodore Roosevelt

Jackson’s response to Marshall’s declaration that Indian Removal

was unconstitutional

The beginning of an era of

domination by the legislative

branch over the executive

The restoration of executive power

Impeached over Tenure of Office violation, an act whose

constitutionality was suspect.

Supporting Standard (20)The student understands the changing

relationships among the three branches of federal government.

The Student is expected to:(A) 1 Describe the impact of events such as

the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on the relationship between the legislative &

executive branches of government

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution or the Southeast Asia Resolution enacted August 10, 1964, was

a joint resolution that the U. S. Congress passed on August 7, 1964, in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.

It is of historical significance because it gave President Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by

Congress, for the use of “conventional” military force in Southeast Asia. Specifically, the resolution authorized the President to do whatever necessary in order to assist “any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective

Defense Treaty.” This included involving armed forces.

The Johnson administration subsequently relied upon the resolution to begin its rapid

escalation of U.S. military involvement in South Vietnam and open warfare

between North Vietnam & the U. S.

The USS Maddox, a U.S. destroyer, was conducting a DESOTO patrol in the waters of the Golf of Tonkin on August 2, 1964, when it was

attacked by three North Vietnamese Navy torpedo boats from the 135th Torpedo Squadron, which were attempting to close their range on the Maddox for effective torpedo fire (1,000 yards was maximum effective range for the torpedoes). Maddox fired over 280 5-inch

shells and the boats expended their 6 torpedoes (all misses) and some 14.5-mm machinegun fire.

Breaking contact, the combatants commenced going their separate ways, when the three torpedo

boats, T-333, T-336, and T-339 were then attacked by four USN F-I Crusader jet fighter bombers from

the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga. 

Two days later on August 4, the Maddox and the destroyer Turner Joy both reported to be under attack again, by North Vietnamese torpedo boats; during this

alleged engagement, the Turner Joy fired approximately 220 3-inch & 5-inch shells at radar controlled surface

targets.

After fewer than nine hours of committee consideration and floor debate, Congress voted, on August 10, 1964, on a

joint resolution authorizing the president “to take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty requesting

assistance in defense of its freedom.” The unanimous affirmative vote in the House of Representatives was 416–0. The Senate conferred its

approval by a vote of 88–2.

Critics decried as having given the Johnson administration a “blank check.” Seeking to restore limits on presidential authority to engage

U.S. forces without a formal declaration of war, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973, over Nixon’s veto. The War Powers Resolution, which is still in effect, sets forth certain requirements for

the President to consult with Congress in regard to decisions that engage U.S. forces in hostilities or imminent hostilities.

Supporting Standard (20)The student understands the changing

relationships among the three branches of federal government.

The Student is expected to:(A) 2 Describe the impact of events such as the War Powers Act on the relationship between the legislative & executive branches of government

Where should power divide?

During the Korean and Vietnam wars, the United States found itself involved for many years in situations of intense conflict

without a declaration of war. Many members of Congress became concerned with the erosion of congressional authority to decide when the United States should become involved in a

war or the use of armed forces that might lead to war.

The credibility gap widened when news leaked out that President Nixon conducted secret bombings of Cambodia during the Vietnam War. He did not tell Congress about his military plan. The resolution was created because Congress felt that the president had too much power.

The War Powers Resolution was passed by both the House of Representatives & Senate but was vetoed

by President Nixon. By a two-thirds vote in each house, Congress overrode the veto and enacted the

joint resolution into law on November 7, 1973.

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 is a federal law intended to check the president’s power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. The resolution was adopted in the form of a United States Congress joint resolution; this provides that the President can send U. S. armed

forces into action abroad only by declaration of war by Congress, “statutory authorization,” or in case of “a national emergency created by attack upon the

United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.”

The War Powers Resolution requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30 day withdrawal period, without an authorization of

the use of military force or a declaration of war. The resolution was passed by two-thirds of Congress, overriding a presidential veto. It has been alleged that the War Powers

Resolution has been violated in the past, for example, by President Clinton in 1999, during the bombing campaign in Kosovo. All incidents have had congressional disapproval,

but none have had any successful legal actions taken against the president for alleged violations.

Congress invoked the War Powers Resolution in the Multinational Force in Lebanon Act, which authorized the Marines to remain in Lebanon for 18 months during 1982 and 1983. In addition, the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 1991 which authorized United

States combat operations against Iraqi forces during the 1991 Gulf War, stated that it constituted specific statutory authorization within the

meaning of the War Powers Resolution.

On November 9, 1993, the House used a section of the War Powers Resolution to state that U.S. forces

should be withdrawn from Somalia by March 31, 1994; Congress had already taken this action in

appropriations legislation. More recently under President

Clinton, war powers were at issue in former Yugoslavia, Bosnia,

Kosovo, Iraq, & Haiti, and under President George W. Bush in

responding to terrorist attacks against the U.S. after Sep. 11,

2001. In 1999, President Clinton kept the bombing campaign in

Kosovo going for more than two weeks after the 60-day deadline

had passed.

In October 2002 Congress enacted the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq which

authorized President Bush to use force as necessary to defend the United States against Iraq and enforce relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

Because the Constitution limits the President's authority in the use of force without a declaration of war by Congress, there is controversy as to whether the provisions of the resolution are consistent with

the Constitution.

One argument concerns a possible breach of the “separation of powers” doctrine, and whether

the resolution changes the balance between the Legislative and Executive functions.

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