gislation (House Report). These two proposals, S. 440 and H. J. Res. 542, would be the final bills in their respective chambers of Congress. In conference committee, these two resolutions were combined to form the WPR, which would survive a Presidential veto to become law in November of 1973.
             At its heart, the WPR is a struggle between two competing schools of thought regarding authorization to wage war. Some, including President Nixon and many Congressional Republicans, read the constitution in such a manner that the President should be given unfettered control of the armed forces, as per article two, section two. Others, including many Congressional Democrats, read the constitution in such a manner that the congress should be given the ultimate say over whether or not to engage in conflict, as per article 1, section 8. The tension between these two points of view had been approaching critical mass since 1950, with President Truman's deployment of troops into combat in Korea (Murnane Jr. 1998, 112). This buildup of competing idea
             ...