On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia.
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Authority granted by congress to President Johnson in 1964 to approve and support in advance " The determination of the president as commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attacks against the U.S.
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