Constitutional War Powers in World War I: Charles Evans Hughes and the Power to Wage War Successfully

"Constitutional War Powers in World War I: Charles Evans Hughes and the Power to Wage War Successfully" Journal of Supreme Court History, vol. 44, Issue 3 (November 2019), pp. 267-277

Columbia Public Law Research Paper No. 14-662

11 Pages Posted: 18 Jul 2020 Last revised: 24 Jul 2020

Date Written: July 16, 2020

Abstract

On September 5, 1917, at the height of American participation in the Great War, Charles Evans Hughes famously argued that “the power to wage war is the power to wage war successfully.” This moment and those words were a collision between the onset of “total war,” Lochner-era jurisprudence, and cautious Progressive-era administrative development. This article tells the story of Hughes’s statement—including what he meant at the time and how he wrestled with some difficult questions that flowed from it. The article then concludes with some reasons why the story remains important today.

Keywords: World War I, Charles Evans Hughes, war, constitutional war powers, constitution, constitutional law

Suggested Citation

Waxman, Matthew C., Constitutional War Powers in World War I: Charles Evans Hughes and the Power to Wage War Successfully (July 16, 2020). "Constitutional War Powers in World War I: Charles Evans Hughes and the Power to Wage War Successfully" Journal of Supreme Court History, vol. 44, Issue 3 (November 2019), pp. 267-277, Columbia Public Law Research Paper No. 14-662, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3653446

Matthew C. Waxman (Contact Author)

Columbia Law School ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.law.columbia.edu/fac/Matthew_Waxman

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