It is not difficult to see the impact that World War II had on Columbus. The War Department built Camp Atterbury as a training center after the U.S. declared war. Another highly visible remnant of the war is Bakalar Air Force Base. The most poignant reminder of the war is the limestone pillars of the Bartholomew County Veteran’s Memorial.
The war cost the lives of Columbus residents while other veterans returned home with physical and psychological wounds. The war shattered the lives of those who lost loved ones. The downtown memorial also commemorates the Bartholomew County lives lost in other wars — some declared and others undeclared. After all, 1941 was the last time the United States formally declared war.
This is more than just a piece of historical trivia. It is an ominous trend. Under Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress has the sole power to declare war. The president is the commander in chief, but does not declare war. Since 1973, our armed forces have fought through congressional resolutions under the War Powers Act.
When the United States declared war in 1941, it was after an attack on the nation. The U.S. went to war to defeat genocidal fascists.
Since then, the reasons for going to war have been less clear. Our invasion of Iraq in 2003 was on the grounds that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and had participated in the 9/11 attacks. It turns out that neither of these were true. Our involvement in Vietnam started as support of French colonialism and then morphed into an effort to prop up a weak and dysfunctional South Vietnam.
The erosion of the congressional power to declare war is just a part of a larger and troubling trend in American politics. Over time, the legislative branch of the federal government has ceded power to the executive branch.
But I do not hear our elected representatives in Washington or anyone running for president seem too concerned about the imbalance of power amongst the three supposed co-equal branches of our political system. This is not a partisan issue. Both Republicans and Democrats have been willing to expand presidential power when their party controls the White House.
The power of the executive has often expanded during times of crisis. Afterward, it is difficult to put the genie back in the bottle. Perhaps the largest expansion of power took place during World War II and the Cold War. During that time, the size of the executive branch grew dramatically. After World War II, rather than demobilizing, the U.S. maintained a large military force during the Cold War.
Other examples of the expansions of presidential power include the issuing of executive orders, negotiating treaties without consulting Congress, appointing officials to the executive branch without Senate confirmation and the dramatic growth of the executive branch’s bureaucracy. The executive branch has expanded so much since World War II that effective leadership by one person may be impossible. In the meantime, Congress has struggled to effectively oversee the executive branch.
I have heard a nearly endless list of theories as to explain the causes of our current political turmoil. If the president had to actually work with Congress, regardless of political affiliation, and submit to legislative oversight, the politicians in Washington might actually have to cooperate with one another.
Aaron Miller is one of The Republic’s community columnists and all opinions expressed are those of the writer. He has a doctorate in history and is an associate professor of history at Ivy Tech Community College — Columbus. Send comments to editorial@therepublic.com.
