The Tonkin Gulf Resolution gave President Lyndon Johnson authority to increase U.S. involvement in the war between North and South Vietnam. The joint resolution “to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia” passed on August 7.
Even politicians concerned about the American involvement in Vietnam backed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. Like Johnson, they did not want to appear “soft on communism,” especially with elections coming up in November. There are only two marks in the “nays” column: Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon and Senator Ernest Gruening of Alaska voted against the resolution.
In the short debate that took place before the vote, Senator Morse predicted, “within the next century, future generations will look with dismay and great disappointment upon a Congress which is now about to make such a historic mistake.”
