d to them as an approval for temporary involvement to prevent further escalation was by no means a declaration of war.(9) Seeing the ability of one man to supercede the approval of Congress by not obtaining a declaration of war made members of Congress wary of what future possibilities might entail. Learning their lesson from Johnson, Congress eventually reclaimed some of its’ foreign policy powers when the War Powers Act was passed in 1973.The president, acting as head of state, is the nation’s crisis manager and President Johnson was force to manage the crisis of the Gulf of Tonkin incidents. As Goulden correctly points out, “The Congress and the public, entirely reliant upon the Executive for information in a crisis, must put their total trust in him.”(10) Such was the case when Johnson told Congress and the American people about these tow unprovoked attacks by the North Vietnamese on American ships. He advocated the need for a resolution that gave him authority to use all possible action, including the use of the armed forces. Trusting the President in this time of crisis, both public opinion and votes from Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. With the ability to look back, Johnson’s performance as crisis manager seen in light of the misinformation, and possible deception, was not as great as people in August of 1964 though it was.The unity of the office of the President enabled Johnson to act swiftly and effectively in obtaining his desired Tonkin Gulf Resolution, but also held him accountable to the outcome of the affair. Facing immense pressure, Johnson with the help of his advisors was able to directly make decisions about how to handle the two incidents in the gulf. The solidarity of the office enabled Johnson to deploy air strikes on North Vietnam, personally address members of Congress, and make a televised appearance to the American people within 24 hours. However, he is ...
