Question

Describe the increasing involvement of the USA in Vietnam under Johnson.

Answer 1

1. The U.S. got much more involved in Vietnam under President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969), and it became a full-scale war.
2. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964, in which North Vietnamese troops were said to have attacked U.S. naval ships.
3. This gave Johnson a lot of power to use military force in Vietnam without officially declaring war.
4. Johnson began Operation Rolling Thunder, a huge bombing operation against North Vietnam, in 1965.
5. Also, it was the first time he sent troops to fight in Vietnam. More than 500,000 American soldiers were in combat by 1968.
6. Johnson’s plan was to beat the Viet Cong and help the South Vietnamese government. 
7. But the war became less popular at home as more people died, it got more attention from the media, and it wasn’t clear what progress was being made.
8. Johnson was president when the United States was most involved in Vietnam. This was the most intense time for American military activity there.