• Episode 4: Johnson Sets the Stage

    Congress rushes to give President Johnson war powers

    black and white photograph of President signing resolution in front of an audience and media cameras and

  • We still seek no wider war. - President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964

    With the post-coup Saigon regime in chaos, North Vietnam sharply escalated the war in hopes of bringing Communists to power before Americans fully intervened. Despite doubts about its significance and winnability, Johnson was “not going to lose Vietnam.”

    The 36th President portrayed confrontations between U.S. and North Vietnamese ships off the coast of North Vietnam as unprovoked aggression. When contrary information surfaced, many believed Congress had been conned. It was too late. With little debate, legislators passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, giving Johnson unprecedented power to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.”

     

  • After initially reporting that he was “under continuous torpedo attack,” the captain of the USS Maddox cabled, “freak weather effects on radar and overeager sonarmen may have accounted for many reports.”

    Document with black typewritten text and red declassified stamp

    Cable regarding the attack on the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin, August 4, 1964. Records of the Stat...Read more

    Cable regarding the attack on the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin, August 4, 1964. Records of the State Department

    Read less
    View in the National Archives Catalog
  • Cream document with black typewritten text, red and black stamps, and blue and black hand-written mark-ups

    Tonkin Gulf Resolution as introduced in the Senate, August 5, 1964. Records of the U.S. Senate

    View in the National Archives Catalog
  • black and white photograph of President signing resolution in front of an audience and media cameras and

    President Johnson signs the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in the White House East Room as congressional leaders look on, August 10, 1964.  Lyndon...Read more

    President Johnson signs the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in the White House East Room as congressional leaders look on, August 10, 1964.  Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum

    Read less
    View in the National Archives Catalog

  • Key Dates

    • April 25, 1964: Johnson appoints General William Westmoreland to command MACV
    • May 22, 1964: Johnson delivers his “Great Society” speech
    • July 2, 1964: Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act
    • August 2, 1964: First Tonkin Gulf Incident
    • August 4, 1964: Alleged second Tonkin Gulf incident
    • August 7, 1964: Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
    • October 16, 1964: People’s Republic of China successfully tests atomic bomb
    • November 3, 1964: Johnson defeats Goldwater in Presidential election
  • black and white photograph of President signing resolution in front of an audience and media cameras and
    • Document with black typewritten text and red declassified stamp
    Cream document with black typewritten text, red and black stamps, and blue and black hand-written mark-ups
    black and white photograph of President signing resolution in front of an audience and media cameras and
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