1. Unit 11: Vietnam

2. Geneva Conference What issues were resolved in 1954?
Why did the conference fail to lay the foundation for a lasting political settlement?

3. Tonkin gulf Crisis U.S. Constitution
Executive Branch (President)
*Commander-in-Chief of military
Legislative Branch (Senate & House)
*Power to declare war
*Allocate $
Judicial Branch (Supreme Court)

4. Tonkin Gulf Crisis
Why did Johnson believe that bipartisan congressional support for his policies in Vietnam was so important?
Does the government of a democracy have to operate under a different set of rules from those of a dictatorship when formulating foreign policy?

5. Tonkin Gulf Crisis
How did the 1964 presidential campaign influence the Johnson administration’s policy in Vietnam?

6. Tonkin Gulf Crisis

7. Tonkin Gulf Crisis
Some have argued that the North Vietnamese were to blame for the incident, while others have maintained the United States was at fault. Discuss the case that both sides might make.
Why do you think President Johnson went to Congress and the American people immediately, rather than waiting for a full investigation of the second “attack”?

8. Tonkin Gulf Crisis
“…approves… the President… to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack… to prevent further aggression… to assist [South Vietnam]… in defense of its freedom.”
-Tonkin Gulf Resolution, 1964

9. Tonkin Gulf Crisis
How do the changes in wording from the June draft change the President’s ability to direct U.S. policy in Vietnam? Explain by comparing specific phrases from the two documents.
Sometime later, Johnson remarked to aides that this resolution was “like grandma’s nightshirt, it covers everything.” What did he mean by this?

10. Tonkin Gulf Resolution
If the administration had foreseen how long and costly the war would be, do you think that it would have chosen the same means to obtain congressional support and legal authority?