DescriptionAmerican foreign policy has drastically changed since September 11, 2001. In the decade before that date America was engaged in a series of smaller conflicts, but nothing sustained over a long period of time. The United States (U.S.) has fought its two longest wars, Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), since then. Both wars were aided by the major shift in presidential war powers that occurred due to September 11, 2001. Within one week of the terror attacks that day the Authorization of Use of Military Force of 2001 (AUMF) was passed into law. This AUMF changed presidential war powers more than any authorization for war. It has also impacted many civil liberties issues, closing the gap between liberty and security. The purpose of my thesis is to prove that presidential war powers changed under President Bush more than any President. I specifically state that passing the AUMF of 2001 is the direct point in time where presidential war powers changed for the foreseeable future as my second argument. Lastly, I argue that President Bush was within his constitutional rights and acted within the precedents set by past Presidents while defending America. There are many parts to this thesis that support my arguments. First, I try to interpret the intent of the Framers of the Constitution (Framers) regarding war powers in the Constitution of the U.S. (Constitution). This is important because it is what scholars and politicians use to base their positions on this topic. This is where I discuss both arguments of the war powers debate. One argument is that the President has war powers given in the Constitution. The other is that only Congress has the power to declare war. I also provide a history of Presidents using war powers, so we can compare them to President Bush. The bulk of my thesis discusses the AUMF of 2001 in many capacities. I discuss the overview, impact, debate, and framework of it to show evidence for my thesis statement and key arguments. Through my thesis I defend it from a historical perspective. Historical evidence supports all of my arguments and is the baseline of it.