Lesson Plan

Case Study - The Tonkin Gulf Resolution

The Tonkin Gulf Resolution Case Study is excerpted from The Limits of Power: The United States in Vietnam.

This lesson plan is one of the online resources provided to accompany the Teacher's Guide for The Fog of War

War-Making Powers - Students should read:

Call on students to share their responses to the discussion questions with the class.

How did the 1964 presidential campaign influence the Johnson administration's policy in Vietnam?
How did developments in Vietnam color the perceptions of U.S. policymakers toward the Tonkin Gulf incident?
Ask students to imagine that they are members of Congress at the time of the Tonkin Gulf crisis. How would they have responded to the incident? What factors would have entered into their decisions.

Weighing the U.S. Response - Students should read:

Call on students to share their responses to the discussion questions with the class.

Why did the Tonkin Gulf incident represent a turning point for U.S. policy in Vietnam?
How did the U.S. position in Vietnam in the summer of 1964 fit into the overall strategy of U.S. foreign policy?
Why did the Tonkin Gulf resolution encounter virtually no opposition in Congress?