In August 1964 North Vietnamese boats fired on an American
destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin. When two American ships reported a second
attack, the United States Senate responded by authorizing increased military
activity in the region. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution marked a turning point in
U.S. involvement in Vietnam, giving President Lyndon Johnson broad authority to
expand the U.S. war effort. Congress repealed the resolution in 1970 after
critical reassessments of the Gulf of Tonkin incident and of the Vietnam War. In
1973 Congress also attempted to curb the president’s power to send troops into
combat with the War Powers Resolution. Herbert S. Parmet
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Eighty-eighth Congress of the United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the
seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and sixty-four
Joint Resolution
To promote the maintenance of international peace and
security in southeast Asia.
Whereas naval units of the Communist regime in Vietnam,
in violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of
international law, have deliberately and repeatedly attacked United States naval
vessels lawfully present in international waters, and have thereby created a
serious threat to international peace; and
Whereas these attacks are part of a deliberate and
systematic campaign of aggression that the Communist regime in North Vietnam has
been waging against its neighbors and the nations joined with them in the
collective defense of their freedom; and
Whereas the United States is assisting the peoples of
southeast Asia to protect their freedom and has no territorial, military or
political ambitions in that area, but desires only that these peoples should be
left in peace to work out their own destinies in their own way: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress
approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief,
to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of
the United States and to prevent further aggression.
SEC. 2. The United States regards as vital to its
national interest and to world peace the maintenance of international peace and
security in southeast Asia. Consonant with the Constitution of the United States
and the Charter of the United Nations and in accordance with its obligations
under the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, the United States is,
therefore, prepared, as the President determines, to take all necessary steps,
including the use of armed force, to assist any member or protocol state of the
Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty requesting assistance in defense of its
freedom.
SEC. 3. This resolution shall expire when the President
shall determine that the peace and security of the area is reasonably assured by
international conditions created by action of the United Nations or otherwise,
except that it may be terminated earlier by concurrent resolution of the
Congress.
Speaker of the House of Representatives: John C.
McCormack
Acting President pro tempore of the Senate: Lee
Metcalf
APPROVED
AUG 10 1964
Lyndon B. Johnson
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