AMENDMENT:
War, proposing a referendum in the United States before declaring
Amendment Details:
Date:
Nov. 16, 1937
Type:
Congressional Bills
State of Origin:
Wisconsin (WI)
Congress:
75th Congress (1937-1939)
Summary:
War, proposing a referendum in the United States before declaring
Text:
"ARTICLE
"SECTION 1. The President shall not wage warfare
abroad without a declaration of war by Congress. Except
in the event of an invasion of, or military expedition against,
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the United States or its Territorial possessions, or attack by
a foreign military force upon its citizens residing therein, or
invasion of, or a military expedition from abroad against,
other North American or Caribbean nation, the authority
of the Congress to declare war or conscript men for military
any
service overseas shall not become effective until confirmed
by a majority of all votes cast in a Nation-wide referendum
thereon. The Congress, whenever it deems necessary, shall
by concurrent resolution refer the questions of war or peace
and of military conscription for service overseas to the citizens
of the States the questions to be voted on being: 'Shall the
United States declare war on
?' and 'Shall the
Congress be authorized to conscript men for military service
overseas?".
"The Congress shall by law provide for the enforcement
of this article.
"SEC. 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall
have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution of the
United States by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several
States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years
from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress."
Chamber:
Senate
Sponsor or Proponent:
La Follette
Committee of referral:
Judiciary
Record Source:
Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the United States Introduced in Congress from the 69th Congress, 2d Session through the 87th Congress, 2d Session, December 6, 1926 to January 3, 1963, S. Doc. No. 163, 87th Cong. 2d Sess., Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963.
Cite As:
The Amendments Project, edited by Jill Lepore and Tobias Resch, 2023, https://amendmentsproject.org [Record Number b075-s00218, accessed 2026-04-02]. Record Source: [Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the United States Introduced in Congress from the 69th Congress, 2d Session through the 87th Congress, 2d Session, December 6, 1926 to January 3, 1963, S. Doc. No. 163, 87th Cong. 2d Sess., Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963.]
