By the Numbers - Oct.26, 2016

By the Numbers - Oct.26, 2016

11

The number of times the United States has declared war against foreign countries, according to the most recent iteration of the Congressional Research Service report, Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2015 (PDF). 

These 11 U.S. war declarations encompassed five separate wars: the war with Great Britain declared in 1812; the war with Mexico declared in 1846; the war with Spain declared in 1898; the First World War, during which the United States declared war with Germany and with Austria-Hungary during 1917; and World War II, during which the United States declared war against Japan, Germany, and Italy in 1941, and against Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania in 1942.

The report, released on October 15, "lists hundreds of instances in which the United States has used its Armed Forces abroad in situations of military conflict or potential conflict or for other than normal peacetime purposes," and is current to the date of publication. It is revised periodically.

The Congressional Research Service does not make its high quality, impeccably sourced reports directly available to the public online, but several organizations gather up as many as possible and post them to the open web. The most extensive (and continually updated) collection is available from the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.