The Vietnam War Timeline

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (10/08/1964)

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (officially, the Southeast Asia Resolution, Public Law 88-408) was addressed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress passed on August 10, 1964 in direct response to a minor naval engagement known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. It is of historical significance because it gave U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of military force in Southeast Asia. The Johnson administration subsequently cited the resolution as legal authority for its rapid escalation of U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam conflict.

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