Free course on the presidency. One paragraph per day.
16. The President would be fully empowered to act in defense of the nation if any foreign power should declare war against the United States of America. James Madison’s notes from the Constitutional Convention explained the general consensus at the time: that giving Congress the power to declare war would still leave the President with power to repel sudden attacks. Only one delegate, South Carolina’s Pierce Butler, spoke in favor of granting authority to declare war to the executive.
Image: Franklin Pierce, by James P.A. Healy
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