Question

Which of the following statements is true of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964?
A) It passed both the Senate and the House without any dissenting votes
B) It contributed to president Johnson’s slim margin of victory in the 1964 election
C) It was a declaration of war that congress passed after much debate
D) In retrospect, it is clear that the resolution was justified by clear evidence of North Vietnamese aggression
E) It gave President Johnson a "blank check" to retaliate against the North Vietnamese.

Answer 1

Hint: The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a complex naval event off the coast of Vietnam that was presented to the United States Congress on August 5, 1964, as two unprovoked attacks by North Vietnamese torpedo boats on the destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy of the United States Seventh Fleet, which led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Complete answer:
President Lyndon B. Johnson was given the authority under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to "take all necessary measures to resist any armed attack against US forces and to deter subsequent aggression" by North Vietnam's communist leadership. It was passed by the United States Congress on August 7, 1964, in response to an alleged attack on two US naval vessels stationed off the coast of Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution effectively kicked off America's full-fledged participation in the Vietnam War.

By 1964, Vietnam had been engulfed in a decades-long civil war, and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution marked the start of the US engagement in the Vietnam War, with the claimed goal of halting the spread of communism in the region. It passed the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly and the US Senate with only two votes against it.
Two separate attacks on two US Navy destroyers, the USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy, allegedly happened on August 2 and 4, 1964, respectively, prompting the resolution.

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘E’.

Note: The two destroyers were stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin, which is today known as the East Vietnam Sea and separates Vietnam from the Chinese island of Hainan. They were in the country to help South Vietnamese military raids on the coast of what was then North Vietnam.