Kennedy Assassination Tell your partner: Do you believe it was a conspiracy? Why or why not? What evidence was most compelling in terms of supporting your side?

Gulf of Tonkin

President Johnson Johnson escalates troops to 500,000 Johnson: “The communists want to rule the world, and if we don’t stand up to them, they will do it. And we’ll be slaves. Now I’m not one of those folks seeing Communists under every bed. But I do know about the principles of power, and when one side is weak, the other steps in.”

Gulf of Tonkin Incident August of 1964 Johnson announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats had attacked U.S. destroyers in international waters This was the “Gulf of Tonkin incident”

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution President asked Congress for a resolution giving him authority to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack” Passed 416-0 in House, 88-2 in Senate Johnson said privately that this “covered everything”

But…Did the Gulf of Tonkin attack really happen?

Mindset What is Johnson’s mindset about Vietnam?

The Attacks August 2nd, 1964: August 4th, 1964: Response: 3 North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on the USS Maddox The Maddox fired back, hitting all 3 boats August 4th, 1964: Maddox was again under attack once it sailed into North Vietnamese waters Response: Johnson authorized an attack on the Vietnamese 30 minutes after the August 4th attack Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - authorized America’s use of force

The Conspiracy Theory At the time, some people argued that the Gulf of Tonkin Attack didn’t actually occur

Today we will examine: Did the Gulf of Tonkin attacks really happen?