The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was significant in the U.S. government because it gave the President, at that time President Lyndon B. Johnson, broad authority to escalate U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War without a formal declaration of war from Congress. This resolution essentially granted the President the power to take military action in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war, leading to a significant increase in U.S. military involvement in the conflict. The resolution marked a shift in the balance of war powers between the executive and legislative branches of government.
