On the night of August 4th, 1964, President Johnson appeared on national television. He told the American people that 2 US destroyers; the Madicks and the Turner Joy while on patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin have been attack by North Vietnamese PT boats.
He said neither ship had suffered any damage or any casualties.
The incident however, gave President Johnson enough cause to immediately order limited air strikes against North Vietnam and thus, escalated the war.
Shortly they are after on Aught 7th, the US Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf resolution which gave President Johnson like an approval to continue his policies in Vietnam and specifically allowed the President as commander in Chief to take all the necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of United States and to prevent further aggression.
In essence, the Tonkin Gulf resolution gave the president the power to make war in the absence of the congressional declaration of war.
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