Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils study a modern society and the issues that affected it in great depth over a shorter period. They learn about the key events, developments, people and stories that shaped this modern society over a period of around twenty to thirty years.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain the importance of the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Key Notes

• US President Lyndon B. Johnson continued US involvement in Vietnam.
• An American ship was attacked by North Vietnamese patrol boats in the Gulf of Tonkin.
• American ships thought they were attacked a second time, but they were mistaken.
• America launched air strikes on North Vietnam in response.
• America did not officially declare war on North Vietnam, but Congress authorised aggressive action to be taken.

Vocabulary To Learn

• gulf: a gulf is a deep inlet of a sea almost surrounded by land, with a narrow mouth
• patrol: a patrol is a repetitive journey aimed at keeping watch over a particular area
• Congress: Congress is the group of elected representatives that decide laws in the United States, made up of the Senate and House of Representatives

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Highly-trained members of the military and government tend not to make mistakes.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Changing US policy in Vietnam, 1969-1972 Study Guide
• Civil rights organisations in the 20th century Study Guide
• Containment and the Domino Theory Study Guide
• Early opposition to the civil rights movement Study Guide
• Freedom rides: protests and progress for civil rights (1961) Study Guide
• French Indochina Study Guide
• Greensboro and the sit-in movement Study Guide
• How successful was the civil rights movement by 1975? Study Guide
• Impact of the Vietnam War Study Guide
• King's campaign in the North Study Guide
• Martin Luther King Jr and the early civil rights movement Study Guide
• North Vietnamese strengths in the Vietnam War Study Guide
• Opposition to the Vietnam War in the US Study Guide
• Peace negotiations to end the Vietnam War, 1968-1972 Study Guide
• Progress in education, 1954-60 Study Guide
• Reasons why the civil rights movement was more successful from 1960 to 1965 Study Guide
• Segregation and discrimination in the USA Study Guide
• Support for the Vietnam War in the US Study Guide
• The Black Panther Party Study Guide
• The changing position of black Americans by 1960 Study Guide
• The Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) Study Guide
• The effect of Vietnamisation on US policy in Vietnam Study Guide
• The emergence of the Black Power movement Study Guide
• The expansion of the war into Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam, 1969-1972 Study Guide
• The James Meredith case (1962) Study Guide
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-6) Study Guide
• The Paris Peace agreement, 1973 Study Guide
• The peace marches (1963) and Freedom Summer (1964) Study Guide
• The riots of 1965-67 and the Kerner Report (1968) Study Guide
• The role of Malcolm X in the civil rights movement Study Guide
• The Tet Offensive Study Guide
• US involvement in Vietnam Study Guide
• US weaknesses in the Vietnam War Study Guide
• Vietcong resistance Study Guide