 This article has been updated to include additional responses. “The trust and the temptation would be too great for any one man.” James Madison, America’s fourth president, offered these words in 1793 to explain why he and his fellow founders issued the sole authority to declare war to Congress, under Article I of the Constitution. “In no part of the Constitution is more wisdom to be found than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace to the legislature, and not to the executive department,” he wrote. Yet since their invention, nuclear warheads have sat outside that exclusive duty of Congress to declare war. The American president today has full power over the nation’s nuclear arsenal. He can launch a pre-emptive strike any time and at any target on his command alone. A life-altering retaliation and full-fledged nuclear war would be nearly inevitable. Every president has held this power since the days after Harry Truman ordered the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Times Opinion last month surveyed members of the incoming 119th Congress about how they felt about this constitutional contradiction. We sent a short list of questions to all 530 voting members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who are expected to serve in the new Congress seated in January. You can read our questions in full below. The main insight from the answers we received: If there is a widespread urgency or willingness in Congress to cooperate on bills that create safeguards around nuclear war, it was not apparent. This article is part of the Opinion series At the Brink,about the threat of nuclear weapons in an unstable world. Read the opening story here. Disciplinary proceedings against Dr. Wax tested the tenure protections of professors and whether such protections allow them to voice opinions that many might find inappropriate or downright insulting. Many students said that they could not trust Dr. Wax to grade students without bias. But many professors — even those who found her comments profoundly racist — objected to disciplining her on the grounds of academic freedom. This article is part ofthe Opinion series At the Brink,about the threat of nuclearweapons in an unstable world.Read the opening story here. Read More from At the Brink Nuclear War Is Called Unimaginable. In Fact, It’s Not Imagined Enough. W.J. Hennigan An Introduction: It’s Time to Protest Nuclear War Again Kathleen Kingsbury How America Made Nuclear War the President's Decision W.J. Hennigan Audio Essay: A Nuclear Weapon Strikes. What Happens Next? Opinion Staff In Audio: The Movies That Help Us Imagine Nuclear War Opinion Staff How China’s Nuclear Ambitions Have Changed the World W.J. Hennigan The Victims of U.S. Nuclear Testing Deserve More Than This W.J. Hennigan The Human Toll of Nuclear Testing W.J. Hennigan Are Americans Ready to Understand Aug. 6? Kathleen Kingsbury, W.J. Hennigan and Spencer Cohen Audio Essay: Hiroshima Survivors on the New Arms Race Kathleen Kingsbury and W.J. Hennigan America’s $1.7 Trillion Nuclear Makeover W.J. Hennigan Where Is the Next Nuclear Threat? Look Up. W.J. Hennigan Audio Essay: What Happens When a Nuclear Weapon Detonates in Space W.J. Hennigan We Asked 530 Incoming Congress Members Their Thoughts on Nuclear Sole Authority. This Is What They Told Us. Kathleen Kingsbury Donald Trump Can Pull Us Back From the Nuclear Brink The Editorial BoardWe are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. meta88 slot gameThank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.lucky horse |
