In what is destined to become a classic, one of America's finest legal thinkers has brought much-needed new clarity to a perennial problem. -- Laurence H. Tribe, Harvard Law School [T]he most signal quality of this book is its shining integrity. Ely's patient, careful, but never tedious examination of Congress's role in the authorization of the Vietnam War is an inspiring antidote to the indulgent amnesia of so many who ought to know better. -- Philip Bobbitt, "Michigan Law Review" John Hart Ely ... is something of a marvel among law scholars: he writes readable, influential books about crucial issues of public policy... [Ely] is convinced that the country would be more likely to avoid disastrous experiences of the Vietnam sort if the Constitution were made to work. -- Richard Falk, Princeton University There is no more detailed or tightly analyzed summary of recent uses of the war power. [War and Responsibility belongs on the bookshelf of anyone teaching about the presidency or concerned at the clash that sometimes exists between the power of the modern presidency and the tenets of American democracy. -- Philippa Strum, "Presidential Studies Quarterly" Professor Ely has written a book of timely and tremendous importance. It makes a significant contribution to the hoped-for restoration of the historic constitutional balance between the legislative and executive branches. -- Representative Ronald V. Dellums, Chairman, House Committee on Armed Services

Twenty years after the signing of the Paris Accords, the constitutional ambiguities of American involvement in the Vietnam War remain unresolved. John Hart Ely examines the overall constitutionality of America's role in Vietnam; and shows that Congress authorized each new phase of American involvement without committing itself to the stated aims of intervention.