Argument Against The Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution

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“Article I, section 8 of our Constitution does not permit the president to make war at his discretion” (Wayne Morse on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution). Even though Wayne Morse was accused of being sidetracked by the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and not concentrating on greater issues, Wayne Morse demonstrated political courage when he, along with one other senator-Ernest Gruening, formally opposed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution when no one else would.
Two United States destroyers stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam radioed they were being attacked by north Vietnamese forces on patrol boats. President Lyndon B. Johnson requested permission from the U.S. Congress to increase the U.S. military presence in Indochina because of these attacking …show more content…

On August 7th, 1964, the Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, granting President Johnson a legal guideline for the prosecution of the war. The Constitution establishes the President as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but to balance and check this power the Constitution invests Congress with the power to declare war. Morse disapproved of the open ended nature of the approval and accused Congress for giving the President and the military a “blank check” which would be paid for with taxpayer’s money and citizens’ lives. All other senators, aside from Wayne Morse and Ernest Gruening were in favor for the joint resolution that promised “to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia”. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution stated that “Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repeal any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent any further aggression.” Morse was mostly alone in his opposition to President Johnson’s Vietnam policy, as he was a senior member of the

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