jan 1, 1964 - 1964 - The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, passed by congress at Lyndon Johnson's behest, authorized the United States government to take any action necessary to fight Vietnam. This was the first formal handover of the power to wage war from the legislature to the executive. That power, once granted, would be used many times in the coming decades to go to war across the globe. This specific decision would lead to a period of distrust in the presidency that temporarily curtailed the power of the president, but th
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 1, 1964
Now
~ 61 years ago