[printfriendly current='yes']

Events Leading to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Read the documents as presented to understand and examine the events leading up to Congress’s passing of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964) and the escalation of the Vietnam conflict.

Answer the questions following each document to prepare for the final evaluation question under “When You’re Done.”

Company

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Memorandum Notifying President Johnson of Attack on the USS Maddox

View Primary Source Details

Question 1

1. Summarize the attack on the USS Maddox.

Enter Your Response

Press Release Following the First Tonkin Gulf Incident

View Primary Source Details

Question 2

2. Was President Johnson's immediate response to the attack on the Maddox appropriate? Explain.

Enter Your Response

Message to U.S Congress Regarding Tonkin Gulf incidents - Page 01

View Primary Source Details

Message to U.S Congress Regarding Tonkin Gulf incidents - Page 02

View Primary Source Details

Question 3

3a. Based on the document/speech, what reasons did President Johnson give when asking Congress for more control in seeking "the full and effective restoration of the international agreements" already made in Vietnam?

3b. What did Johnson specifically state he did not intend to do with this proposed resolution?

Enter Your Response

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, as Introduced, S.J. Res. 189 - Page 01

View Primary Source Details

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, as Introduced, S.J. Res. 189 - Page 02

View Primary Source Details

Question 4

4. After reading the draft of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (and keep in mind this first draft is near identical to the final draft), extract/state the quote that gives President Johnson the ability and authority to manage the conflict, peace, and security of the United States in Vietnam.

Enter Your Response

When you're done

Think about the events starting from the attack on the USS Maddox through the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, as conveyed in the documents.

Was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution the appropriate response to the attack on the USS Maddox?

Write a paragraph including your evaluation as whether the Resolution was the appropriate response (your argument). Make sure to support your argument with evidence from the documents and your knowledge of the Vietnam War, as well as America’s involvement in Cold War events.

Consider U.S. involvement in Vietnam before the attack on the Maddox (under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson) as well as the United States’ greater commitment to the containment of communism and fear of the Domino Theory. Keep in mind that the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution would allow President Johnson, and later Nixon, to commit U.S. resources to escalate the conflict to a full-scale war. These aspects of the Vietnam War are important to justifying whether the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was an appropriate response to the attack on the USS Maddox.

Name(Required)

From (My Name)(Required)

To (My Teacher's Email)

My Assigned Group

New Group Name

Enter Your Response(Required)

Interactive Data

To the extent possible under law, National Archives Foundation has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to “Events Leading to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution”

Memorandum Notifying President Johnson of Attack on the USS Maddox

Press Release Following the First Tonkin Gulf Incident

Message to U.S Congress Regarding Tonkin Gulf incidents - Page 01

Message to U.S Congress Regarding Tonkin Gulf incidents - Page 02

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, as Introduced, S.J. Res. 189 - Page 01

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, as Introduced, S.J. Res. 189 - Page 02

When you're done

Explore Primary Sources

Discover Activities

Create Activities

About DocsTeach