WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In early August 1964, two U.S. destroyers stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam radioed that they had been fired upon by North Vietnamese forces. In response to these reported incidents, President Lyndon B. Johnson requested permission from the U.S. Congress to increase the U.S. military presence in Indochina.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Tonkin Gulf Resolution gave the President authority “to take all necessary measures” to oppose any armed attack upon the United States; President Johnson and President Nixon relied upon the resolution as the legal basis for their Vietnam military policies.

Detailed explanation-3: -Combat troops from the United States began arriving in Vietnam in early 1965. The catalyst for this US escalation in Vietnam was Lyndon Johnson’s election victory in November 1964. With a full four-year term ahead, Johnson now turned his full attention to Vietnam.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Tonkin Gulf Resolution gave the President a “blank check” to wage the war in Vietnam as he saw fit. After Lyndon Johnson was elected President in his own right that November, he chose escalate the conflict.

Detailed explanation-5: -A joint resolution “To promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia.” It is of historic significance because it gave U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, to use conventional military force in Southeast Asia.