Prescriptions for Protecting the Constitutional Design for War

Abstract

The national security challenges in the age of terrorism do not compel constitutional change. On the contrary, what is required is governmental adherence to those provisions that govern war and peace and national security. In Federalist No. 51, James Madison observed that the great challenge confronting America in 1787 was obliging the government to obey the Constitution. That remains the great challenge in our time. Presidents must stop aggrandizing the war power, and Congress must reassert its constitutional authority in the area of war, foreign affairs, and national security. The resurgence of Congress, engagement in vigorous discussion and debate, may well depend upon an aroused citizenry—one committed to the virtues and values of American Constitutionalism and the rule of law, one willing to hold government accountable for the performance of its constitutional responsibilities.