Senate Roll Call Tally Sheet for Tonkin Gulf Resolution
8/7/1964
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
Add only page 1 to activity:
Add only page 2 to activity:
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.”
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate.
National Archives Identifier:
2669461Full Citation: Senate Roll Call Tally Sheet for Tonkin Gulf Resolution; 8/7/1964; (SEN 88A-M1); Roll Call Votes, 1/1963 - 3/1968; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/senate-tally-tonkin, April 26, 2024]