The joint resolution Congress passed after the reported August 1964 attacks in the Gulf of Tonkin. It authorized the President to use military force in Southeast Asia without a declaration of war and became the legal basis for escalating the Vietnam War.
That the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.
78 Stat. 384