War, or even the threat of it, has always seemed to give the president more power. In
times of war Americans often readily give more power to the president, but once the
crisis is over the public then becomes concerned with whether they have created an office
that has become imperial. The office of the president has become increasingly more
powerful over the last 50-60 years. Even though the power to declare war and send US
troops into war belonged to Congress there have many presidents who have chosen to
disregard that point and enter our country into war. Recent history has shown that there
have been several occasions when the president has taken upon himself to deploy troops
or order attacks, without even as much as consulting Congress. One president was able to
trick the Congress into entering into war, and still others have informed Congress after the
In 1950, President Harry Truman dispatched troops to South Korea after it had
been invaded by Communist North Korea, without a declaration of war from Congress.
Facing re-election in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson, wanting to be seen as taking a hard
stance on Communism entered a war he never really supported in the first place. In
recently released, secretly recorded tapes, Johnson dicussing Viet Nam is heard telling his
national security adviser, McGeorge Bundy, " It looks to me like we're getting into
another Korea, I don't see what we can ever hope to get out of there with once we're
committed....I don't think it's worth fighting for and I don't think we can get out, and it's
just the biggest damn mess." (Scheer) But within three months of his statement, Johnson
entered the US into the Viet Nam War. Johnson was able to enter the US into the Viet
Nam War by withholding information form Congress. American ships had reported a
possible attack by the North Vietnamese. That report tur...