In 1963, the streets of Saigon and the surrounding cities of Southern Vietnam were flooded with Viet Cong (VC). These were Vietnamese Communists who lived all throughout Vietnam. The towns became overrun and soon the South started to lose control. As a result, the United States sent around 16,000 military “advisers” to Southern Vietnam. Their job was to aid the South in their efforts to drive the VC out of their country. This, however, was rarely the case as there was a thin line between providing military assistance and taking total control. The incident that occurred in the Gulf of Tonkin is a perfect example of how the United States took matters into their own hands and escalated problems in Vietnam. This opened the door for U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War (Versache 12).
Unfortunately, the following year, …show more content…
It passed with ease and gave “blanket authority to the President to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attacked against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.” This document became the legal grounds for every decision made by the President during the Vietnam War. The resolution, in short, allowed the President to avoid declaring war and to have his power go unchecked during the time in Vietnam (Versache 14; Bridge 182). Congress thought that by passing this resolution, the President would reign in the troops and the war may not last too long. This was not the case, as the North Vietnamese were ruthless when it came to battle. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution actually escalated the war by giving the President the power to pour in more troops to Vietnam. Congress learned from this, as the President’s power needs to be checked, especially in times of crisis and war. The system of checks and balances were set in to make sure situations just like this one do not
Unfortunately, the following year, …show more content…
It passed with ease and gave “blanket authority to the President to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attacked against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.” This document became the legal grounds for every decision made by the President during the Vietnam War. The resolution, in short, allowed the President to avoid declaring war and to have his power go unchecked during the time in Vietnam (Versache 14; Bridge 182). Congress thought that by passing this resolution, the President would reign in the troops and the war may not last too long. This was not the case, as the North Vietnamese were ruthless when it came to battle. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution actually escalated the war by giving the President the power to pour in more troops to Vietnam. Congress learned from this, as the President’s power needs to be checked, especially in times of crisis and war. The system of checks and balances were set in to make sure situations just like this one do not