Case Study - The Tonkin Gulf: The Action

After two days of debate, both Houses of Congress, with only Senators Wayne Morse and Ernest Gruening dissenting, passed the Tonkin Gulf resolution. This congressional action would be cited by the administration as the necessary and sufficient legal authority for its actions in Vietnam during the next several years. Subsequent annual requests for funds to continue the war were regularly approved by Congress. Even congressmen who opposed the war were reluctant to deny the funds and resources necessary to support the U.S. effort. The Tonkin Gulf resolution was repealed by the Senate in June 1970. U.S. involvement in the war continued until January 1973, although no formal declaration of war was ever requested.

Question for class discussion

If the administration had foreseen how long and costly the war would be, do you think that it would have chosen the same means to obtain congressional support and legal authority?

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Online resources to accompany the Teacher's Guide for The Fog of War, A Project of The Choices Program and Critical Oral History Project, Watson Insititute for International Studies — Brown University