356 WRIGHT— POWER TO MAKE POLITICAL DECISIONS. 



himself competent to recognize the termination of foreign wars and 

 the consequent termination of American neutrahty." He has rec- 

 ognized the existence of insurgency and domestic violence in foreign 

 countries by proclamation and by diplomatic correspondence through 

 the Department of State, and the courts have held that such action 

 creates a status covered by special principles of international law. 

 Thus in the case of the Three Friends the court distinguished be- 

 tween " war in the material sense " and " war in the legal sense."^^ 



" Here," it said, " the political department has not recognized the existence 

 of a de facto belligerent power engaged in hostility with Spain, but has recog- 

 nized the existence of insurrectionary warfare prevailing before, at the time 

 and since this forfeiture is alleged to have been incurred." 



After describing two presidential proclamations calling attention 

 to " serious civil disturbances " and " insurrection " in Cuba, the 

 court continues : 



" We are thus judicially informed of the existence of an actual conflict 

 of arms in resistance of the authority of a government with which the 

 United States are on terms of peace and amity, although acknowledgment of 

 the insurgents as belligerents by the political department has not taken place." 



With respect to the President's power of recognition, two ques- 

 tions have been raised : What are its limits ? and. Is it exclusive ? 



193. Limits of Recognition Power. 



The courts have taken cognizance of the President's recognition 

 of states, governments, belligerency, insurgency and foreign ac- 

 quisitions of territory on numerous occasions and they have never 

 held that the President exceeded his powers.^^ It is clear, how- 

 ever, that if unlimited, the power of recognition could be used to 

 usurp the power to declare war. Thus recognition of a foreign 

 revolting state, if premature, would furnish a casus belli. This 

 possibility was envisaged by Secretary of State Adams when occasion 

 arose for recognizing the revolting South American Republics and 

 he stated: 2" 



" Mr. Seward, Sec. of State, to Mr. Goni, Spanish Minister, July 22, 

 1868, Moore, Digest, 7: 337, supra, sec. 213. 



^^Ibid., i: 242; The Three Friends, 166 U. S. 63-66 (1897). 



10 Ibid., 1 : 247. 



20 Mr. Adams, Sec. of State, to the President, Aug. 24, 1818, ibid., i : 78. 

 For discussion of circumstances justifying recognition, see Dana, Notes to 

 Wheaton, Elements of International Law, pp. 35, 41- 



