What did the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorize?

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was significant because it granted President Lyndon B. Johnson the authority to take military action in Vietnam without requiring an official declaration of war from Congress. Passed by Congress in August 1964, the resolution came in response to reported incidents involving U.S. naval vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin, which heightened fears of communist expansion in Southeast Asia. The resolution effectively marked the beginning of a significant escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, allowing for the deployment of combat troops and a broad military campaign against North Vietnam. This resolution set a precedent for future military engagements in which presidents would seek a degree of military action without formal Congressional approval, altering the landscape of U.S. military authority dramatically.