Gulf of tonkins phantom attack forty years ago today, a murky military encounter at sea plunged the united states deeper into the war in vietnam. The gulf of tonkin resolution and escalation of the vietnam war. Gulf of tonkin resolution stanford history education group. To promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast asia. Because he was communist and supported by the soviet union, the united states backed the french with supplies and military equipment.
Text of joint resolution the tonkin gulf resolution. Johnson responded, lobbying congress for a means to protect peace and security in. This 1page handout provides the original legislation as well as the document image for students to analyze with guiding questions for a better understanding of american documents and, in this case, the 1964 gulf of tonkin resolution on vietnam. The first resolution was passed august 10, 1964 and is known as the gulf of tonkin resolution h. Authority granted by congress to president johnson in 1964 to approve and support in advance the determination of the president as commander in chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attacks against the u. Gulf of tonkin resolution 1964 commentary by luca prono, ph. By the time jfk was assassinated in 1963, the united states had 16,000 military troops in vietnam. Although the version shown here is the original draft resolution, the language was not amended and therefore reads the same as the final version that was signed into law august 10, 1964. That was not the problem as the tonkin incident came. After the august, 1964, gulf of tonkin breakthrough to more open u. The gulf of tonkin resolution august 1964 was a joint resolution by the united states congress for the united states to begin the vietnam war. Text of joint resolution the tonkin gulf resolution, august 7, department of state bulletin, 24 august 1964 source. Maritime boundary delimitation in the gulf of tonkin article pdf available in ocean development and international law 303.
Senate roll call tally sheet for tonkin gulf resolution. Click here to request a free trial account only available to college instructors primary source readers. Analyze the 1964 gulf of tonkin resolution on vietnam with this easy to use resource. Johnson ordered american forces to openly attack the north, and he asked congress to pass a resolution preapproving any military actions the president would take. The images contained within the pdf files available below are of publication quality and will print out at up to 300dpi on standard 812 x 11 paper. To obtain a copy or view the records, please contact or visit the national archives and records administration locations listed in the contact information below. Seventh fleet in the gulf of tonkin on august 2 and august 4, respectively.
It led to huge escalation of us involvement in the vietnam war. Johnson signs gulf of tonkin resolution nara 192483. Highresolution pdfs of tonkin gulf resolution 1964 please note that these files are quite large 23 megabytes and may take over an hour to download on a 28. In early of 1965, president johnson made the decision to send troops to begin the start of the vietnam war. After his reelection in november 1964, he embarked on a policy of escalation. Hand out gulf of tonkin documents ad and guiding questions. Pdf the gulf of tonkin, situated in the south china sea, is a zone of. This authorised johnson to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the us and to prevent further aggression including the use of armed force. The gulf of tonkin resolution was a measure passed by us congress that allowed the us president to make military actions, like increase troops, without formal declaration of war. The gulf of tonkin incident and the start of the vietnam. May 7, 1954 the french are defeated at the battle of dien bien phu. On august 7, the us congress passed, almost unanimously, the tonkin gulf resolution, giving president johnson basically a blank check to use all necessary measures to deal with aggression in vietnam. The tonkin gulf resolution was drafted as the result of reports of unprovoked. Gulf of tonkin resolution guiding questions gulf of.
An introduction to the gulf of tonkin american dreams. At milestone documents, we believe that engaging with historys original voices is exciting for students and. The gulf of tonkin resolution simulator gotrs is a program designed to model the series of events during the four days up to the gulf of tonkin resolution. See more ideas about vietnam war, vietnam and south vietnam. The gulf of tonkin resolution 1964 provided congressional support for 1 withdrawing from the united get the answers you need, now. The following morning, the gulf of tonkin resolution was introduced in the senate. July 21, 1954 the geneva accords declares a ceasefire for the withdrawal of the french from vietnam and creates a temporary boundary between north and south vietnam at the 17 th parallel. Congress approved the resolution on august 7, 1964, authorizing a significant expansion of united states involvement in the vietnam war. American ships such as the maddox went on espionage missions in the norths coastal waters. The gulf of tonkin resolution or the southeast asia resolution, pub. While the resolution pointed to the gulf of tonkin incident as the reason for military action, other government documents show that president johnson and military officials had. North vietnamese attacks on two united states naval vessels in the gulf of. Japan took over vietnam during wwii, but when japan was defeated in 1945, ho chi minh declared vietnamese independence.
Gulf of tonkin resolution simple english wikipedia, the. Within a week, congress authorized the use of military force in vietnam. Gulf of tonkin document a modified gulf of tonkin resolution congressional joint resolution, august 7, 1964 the north vietnamese navy, in violation of the charter of the united nations and of international law, have deliberately and repeatedly attacked united states naval vessels lawfully. This paper examines congressional surrender through the passage of the gulf of tonkin resolution and how congress attempted to regain its coequal powers of war through the end of the vietnam war by restricting funds to southeast asia and by the passage of the war powers act. Within hours, president lyndon johnson ordered the first u. For a decade the cia had been sending in south vietnamese teams on sabotage missions to the north. Pdf tidal characteristics of the gulf of tonkin researchgate. Pdf maritime boundary delimitation in the gulf of tonkin. Nevertheless, the immediate impact of the tonkin gulf incident was that president johnson ordered military strikes on north vietnam in retaliation. Begun and held at the city of washington on tuesday, the seventh day of january, one thousand nine hundred and sixtyfour. August 7, 1964, passage of the gulf of tonkin resolution, which allowed the president to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the united states and to prevent further aggression. Gulf of tonkin vietnam war timeline september 2, 1945 ho chi minh declares an independent vietnam called the democratic republic of vietnam. For multipage documents such as this one, we offer the first and last pages for download below.
They will determine the authority congress granted the president of the united states and the rationale congress used to justify this resolution. The johnson administration had been wanting to get such a resolution from the congress. Tonkin gulf resolution, senate roll call tally sheet, 08071964. By 1964, vietnam had been torn by international and civil war for decades. The thesis also explores the intentions of the founders on separating the sword from the. Please note that these files are quite large 23 megabytes and may take over an hour to download on a. This paper will demonstrate the many similarities between the gulf of tonkin resolution and h. The text eightyeighth congress of the united states of america at the second session. Johnsons midnight address on second gulf of tonkin incident nara 192482.
Tonkin gulf resolution national archives foundation. But french came back in and tried to take over again. Whereas the united states is assisting the peoples of southeast asia to protect their freedom and has. This the gulf of tonkin incident and the start of the vietnam war bundle includes. The tonkin gulf resolution was drafted as the result of reports of unprovoked north vietnamese attacks on two united states naval vessels in the gulf of tonkin. Gulf of tonkin resolution guiding questions most history books say that the united states war in vietnam began in 1964, after congress passed the gulf of tonkin resolution. Explain the major thrust of the senate debate on the gulf of tonkin resolution and why this measure passed with overwhelming support. Enterprise, with assigned attack carrier air wing 9 cvw9, was deployed to the western pacific and vietnam from 26 october 1965 to 21 june 1966 date. Lyndon johnson on august 5, 1964, assertedly in reaction to two allegedly unprovoked attacks by north vietnamese torpedo boats on the destroyers maddox and c. Download lesson plan register or log in to download.
The nuclear powered aircraft carrier uss enterprise cvan65 cruises in the clear blue water of the gulf of tonkin off the shores of vietnam on 28 may 1968. Highresolution pdfs of tonkin gulf resolution 1964. Acting on the belief that hanoi would eventually weaken when faced with stepped up bombing raids, johnson and his advisers ordered the u. In august 1964, the johnson administration claimed that the north vietnamese military had attacked two u. However, its no secret that the united states had been very involved in the region for at least a decade before. In vietnam, ho chi minh, a communist, led an independence movement. Start studying gulf of tonkin incident and resolution. Tonkin gulf resolution 1964 welcome to ourdocuments.
Gulf of tonkin resolution, also called tonkin gulf resolution, resolution put before the u. It involved one real and one falsely claimed confrontation between ships of north vietnam and the united states in the waters of the gulf of tonkin. The gulf of tonkin resolution the us congress were convinced that the attacks had occurred and were outraged. Analyzing the gulf of tonkin resolution original draft. In this activity, students will carefully analyze the draft version of the tonkin gulf resolution. Gulf of tonkin resolution authorstream presentation.
This bundle includes a version of this lecture in keynote mac, powerpoint pc, and pdf format for users of every operating system. Article information, pdf download for revisiting the gulf of tonkin crisis. When president johnson took office after the assassination of president john f. On july 31, 1964 the us destroyer maddox began a reconnaissance operation in the gulf the tonkin as a three point plan. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Gulf of tonkin incident and resolution flashcards quizlet. The events that were claimed to have happened on august 4th of 1964 actually seem to be fake, and the american government supposedly staged them.
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