On August 17, 1967, Undersecretary of State Nicholas de B. Katzenbach declared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Tonkin Gulf Resolution of 1964 was the "functional equivalent" of a declaration of war. (1) Following its passage, the number of American casualties increased dramatically. With the death of Major Charles Kelly in early July 1964, the total death toll in Viet Nam had reached 149. (2) By the time the U.S. pulled out of Saigon on April 30, 1964, the number dead approached 60,000. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was a major turning point in the war.
Then as now, two of the most prominent news magazines for Americans were Time and Newsweek. These magazines described the events surrounding the passing of the resolution. Sparking the resolution was an incident involving attacks by North Vietnamese on U.S. destroyers in the Tonkin Gulf. Following this, President Lyndon B. Johnson met with the National Security Council to discuss the incident. After contacting and informing presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, Johnson addressed the nation in a six minute speech. The next day, he urged Congress to pass the resolution, and again spoke of the conflict at the dedication of a building at Syracuse University. The House passed the bill unanimously, 416-0, after only forty minutes of debate. In the Senate, debate on the resolution lasted nine hours over two days and passed 88-2. (3) President Johnson signed the resolution into law on August 10, 1964. In their coverage of the events, Time and Newsweek reflected the support of Congress and the American people of President Lyndon B. Johnson's actions following the Tonkin Gulf incident. However, Newsweek's tone was more cautious about escalating the conflict than the bolder stance Time took.
In beginning to analyze the respective attitudes of Time and Newsweek toward the conflict, it is enlightening to examine their covers, copies of which are provided at the end of this paper. Time's cover of August 14, 1964 shows a painting of Pacific Commander in Chief (CINCPAC) Grant Sharp. His features and position are hawkish. He is leaning forward, with eyes seemingly focused on prey. His nose slants angularly, hooking at the end. His pronounced widow's peak hairline also add to his hawkish appearance. The background depicts a battleground in the Pacific Ocean, with submarines, destroyers, and aircraft preparing to engage in battle. The caption reads "The U.S. Stand in Asia," connotating firmness and power after the attack. In contrast, Newsweek's August 17, 1964 cover shows a photograph of men working on an plane on an aircraft carrier. The nose of the plane is pointed away from the viewer in a non-threatening position. The caption reads "Vietnam: Widening War?," implying uncertainty and cautiousness. Many more differences in tone are found in the articles. (4)
The headlines and opening paragraphs of the articles are noteworthy. Newsweek quotes President Johnson in its title "Vietnam: 'We Seek No Wider War'." Time's main heading and caption read "A Measured & Fitting Response" and "The indispensable weapons are strength and resoluteness." Time opens its article with a quote from President Johnson's August 4 speech to the nation "'Repeated acts of violence against the armed forces of the United States must be met not only with alert defense but with positive reply.'" The opening paragraph then goes on to describe the actions that the U.S. took with words like "aircraft . . . hurtling through the Southeast Asian skies to attack" and "that was the reply about which the President spoke," calling the incident "one of the most ill-considered Communist moves against the U.S. in recent years." Newsweek asks "What were the attackers trying to prove? For whom were they acting and why?" claiming that the attack was "patently absurd" on the part of "the wretched little nation of North Vietnam." The article opens by stating that although such an incident could be used as a "pretext for war, . . . there was no one in Washington that wanted war." Here again, while Time enthusiastically applauds the military action, Newsweek is far more wary. (5)
Regarding the President's meeting with the NSC (National Security Council), Newsweek emphasizes with a subheading that there were "no hawks crying for war, no doves crying for peace." While Time acknowledges the same, its description of the meeting is more energetic. It ends with CIA Chief John McCone's advice of "clobbering" the North Vietnamese for their "'act of war.'" Time records the response, "That was it. 'All right,' said the President, 'let's go.'" (6)
LBJ gave his televised speech to the nation at 11:37 p.m. Eastern Time. Time and Newsweek give different reasons for the late hour. Time says that President Johnson wanted to make sure that "the air strike at North Viet Nam was under way," so that he could tell the American people "as I speak to you tonight, air action is now in execution." Newsweek says the delay was due to "a pressing domestic political consideration,"-contacting Republican nominee Barry Goldwater who had been out yachting that day without a working ship-to-shore phone.
LBJ's speech that night was reported with variations by the two news magazines. Both include the opening paragraph stating that action was being taken over the incident. Newsweek then emphasizes President Johnson's statements that "We Americans know. . .the risk of spreading conflict. We still seek no wider war." Newsweek also considers the cautions that went into making the decision to retaliate. Time downplays these statements as merely avoiding "saber rattling" and emphasizes the United States action then in progress against the Communists. (7)
The next day, President Johnson presented the resolution to Congress. As described earlier, both houses overwhelmingly supported it. Time and Newsweek both describe the two Senate dissenters, Wayne Morse (D-OR) and Ernest Gruening (D-AK). Newsweek describes Senator Morse, who appears to be the more vocal of the two as coming "out vehemently against the resolution." The magazine quotes him saying "Our actions in Asia today are . . . war-making. I shall not support . . . a predated declaration of war." It also quotes Senator Gruening's words that "All Vietnam is not worth the life of a single American boy." In Newsweek's descriptions, these Senators appear to be lone crusaders, and perhaps prophets of impending doom. Time, however, relishes in the nearly unanimous votes of Congress, dismissing Senator Morse as "irascible," while quickly explaining his and Senator Gruening's reasons for wanting to avoid the conflict. (8)
The concluding statements of the articles describe the magazines' perspectives on the conflict. Newsweek describes "the fuzzy rules of the frustrating war in Southeast Asia-a war for which the U.S. has yet to devise an acceptable end." Time says that "The congressional support mainly punctuated the fact that the U.S. was united behind the President. At week's end U.S. forces around the world stood alert. And behind them stood their nation." The differences in these statements continue to demonstrate the perspectives of Time and Newsweek concerning the issue. (9)
The following week, both papers commented on the consequences of the U.S. action in Southeast Asia. However, they continued with the same attitudes they had used before. Time describes impending war: "All eyes in Saigon . . . star[ing] to the North . . .with a kind of horrible fascination for some sign of things to come." Newsweek hopes for peace after the conflict. First it quotes Deputy Secretary of Defense Cyrus R. Vance as saying "I hope very much this military crisis is over." The magazine continues "And indeed, as the days passed, there was a noticeable easing of the tension." In this case, Time and Newsweek's views were on opposite poles. (10)
Both papers also printed several letters to the editor concerning their articles. All were positive, confirming Newsweek's report that the number of Americans approving of LBJ's handling of the war had risen from 42 to 72 percent. (11) Newsweek published three letters two weeks later. However, Time published nine excerpts the following week, including three international letters with comments such as "Good for you, Yanks!" and "Well done, America!" These comments continued to affirm both magazines opinions of the conflict. (12)
The attitudes of Time and Newsweek differed profoundly, and this difference came out in their articles. Taking the example of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, their attitudes can be found on the covers, in their headlines, in their opening and closing paragraphs, in their later articles, and in their published letters to the editor. They can also be found in their coverage of the events, such as the NSC meeting, LBJ's speech to the nation-both why it was delivered late and the contents reported, and in their descriptions of the two dissenters in the Senate. These attitudes are like an exclamation point for the definitive Time opposed to a question mark for the cautious Newsweek. Thirty-six years this week after the events, the viewpoints of Time and Newsweek on the Tonkin Gulf Resolution highlight their attitudes during the third-most destructive foreign war in American history.
Primary Sources
Government Articles
The following are reprinted in John Galloway's The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:
Address by President Johnson, Syracuse University, August 5, 1964. Department of State Bulletin, August 24, 1964, 51:260-261.
Address to the Nation by President Johnson, August 4, 1964. Department of State Bulletin, August 24, 1964, 51:259.
President Johnson's Message to Congress, August 5, 1964. Department of State Bulletin, August 24, 1964, 51:261-263.
President Johnson's Remarks of August 10, 1964, in Signing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Department of State Bulletin, August 24, 1964, 51:302-303.
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Department of State Bulletin, August 24, 1964, 51:268.
Time and Newsweek articles
"Vietnam: 'We Seek No Wider War'" Newsweek, August 17, 1964, 17-27.
"Southeast Asia: Back to Normal" Newsweek, August 24, 1964, 38-39.
"Letters: Praise for the President" Newsweek, August 31, 1964, 2.
"South Viet Nam: One Mission Too Many" Time, July 10, 1964, 40.
"The Nation: Foreign Relations" Time, August 14, 1964, 11-16.
"Letters: Torpedoes in Tonkin" Time, August 21, 1964, 6.
"The World: South Viet Nam" Time, August 21, 1964, 21.
Secondary Sources
Austin, Anthony. The President's War. J.B. Lippincott Company: Philadelphia and New York, 1971.
Galloway, John. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Associated University Presses, Inc.:Cranbury, N.J., 1970.
McMahon, Robert J. Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War: Second Edition. D. C. Heath and Company: Lexington, MA, 1995.
Siff, Ezra Y. Why the Senate Slept: The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the Beginning of America's Vietnam War. Praeger: Westport, CT, 1999.
1. John Galloway. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (Associated University Presses, Inc.:Cranbury, N.J., 1970), 43.
2. "South Viet Nam: One Mission Too Many" Time, July 10, 1964, 40.
3. "The Nation: Foreign Relations" Time, August 14, 1964, 16.
4. Time, August 14, 1964, cover. Newsweek, August 17, 1964, cover.
5. "Vietnam: 'We Seek No Wider War'" Newsweek, August 17, 1964, 17.
The Nation: Foreign Relations" Time, August 14, 1964, 11.
6. "Vietnam: 'We Seek No Wider War'" Newsweek, August 17, 1964, 17.
The Nation: Foreign Relations" Time, August 14, 1964, 15.
7. "Vietnam: 'We Seek No Wider War'" Newsweek, August 17, 1964, 17.
The Nation: Foreign Relations" Time, August 14, 1964, 11,15.
8. "Vietnam: 'We Seek No Wider War'" Newsweek, August 17, 1964, 18.
The Nation: Foreign Relations" Time, August 14, 1964, 16.
9. "Vietnam: 'We Seek No Wider War'" Newsweek, August 17, 1964, 27.
The Nation: Foreign Relations" Time, August 14, 1964, 16.
10. "Southeast Asia: Back to Normal" Newsweek, August 24, 1964, 38.
"The World: South Viet Nam" Time, August 21, 1964, 21.
11. "Vietnam: 'We Seek No Wider War'" Newsweek, August 17, 1964, 18.
12. "Letters: Praise for the President" Newsweek, August 31, 1964, 2.
"Letters: Torpedoes in Tonkin" Time, August 21, 1964, 6.
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