Why the Senate Slept: The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the Beginning of America's Vietnam War [Hardcover]

Ezra Y. Siff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0275963896 | ISBN-13: 978-0275963897

Siff provides the first accurate account of how the political processes in the U.S. Senate allowed the executive branch to launch a major war, with basically no accountability to Congress. He reveals the heretofore untold personal and public roles of key Senators as well as those of lesser stature whose actions and failures to act resulted in a bloody and costly conflict that divided a nation and scarred its politics and armed forces. The ambition and significant weaknesses of key figures--LBJ, Robert McNamara, Senators Russell of Georgia, Fulbright of Arkansas, Nelson of Wisconsin, McGovern of South Dakota, Gruening of Alaska, and Church of Idaho--who, from the onset, fought to prevent or limit the Americanization of the Vietnam War are examined and judged. This is an important work for students of American politics, the war making powers of the president, and the Vietnam War.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Both specialists and the general reader can find some interesting and worthwhile material here, mainly dealing with the attitudes and views of the individuals involved.”–Canadian Journal of History

“No understanding of what has become 'Vietnam' can be understood without this book, the only book I know that lays the cause of that war directly where it belongs--in the Senate and Congress of the United States of America, both of which 'slept' while (McGeorge) Bundy and (Robert) McNamara created their nightmare.”–from the foreword by Lt. Col. Anthony B. Herbert, U.S. Army, Retired Most decorated battalion commander of the Vietnam War

“Although we have a great many books on the White House's decisions in the Vietnam War, Congress still remains something of a mystery. Ezra Siff's fine discussion of why the Senate slept will fill an important gap. Readers will come away from this book with a much better understanding of how the tragedy began.”–Lloyd C. Gardner, Charles and Mary Beard Professor Department of History, Rutgers University

About the Author

EZRA Y. SIFF is a practicing attorney in Baltimore, Maryland.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Publishers (January 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275963896
• ISBN-13: 978-0275963897
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,262,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Revisiting the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, October 27, 2000

By 

Steven M. Leonard (Fort Leavenworth, KS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why the Senate Slept: The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the Beginning of America's Vietnam War (Hardcover)

Why the Senate Slept provides an interesting, if myopic, glimpse into the legislative processes that ultimately resulted in the passage of S.J. 189, the joint House and Senate resolution commonly referred to as the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. The author, a Baltimore attorney and former legislative assistant to Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WI), contends that the Senate failed to temper the language of the resolution in such a manner as to limit the authority of the executive branch to wage unlimited war.

While debate on this topic has continued since passage of the resolution on August 7, 1964, Siff looks deeper into the role of the Senate in this debacle. Through deception, misinformation, and confusion, the Senate - led by Senators Richard Russell, William Fulbright, and Mike Mansfield - limited debate on the resolution to just three hours and managed to push the resolution through both the House and the Senate in less than 72 hours.

The author offers a different perspective on a historically controversial topic. In focusing on events in the legislative arm of the government, however, Siff does not address a number of critical related issues, tending to limit the utility of this book. For readers seeking a well-researched account of the activities of the Senate during a vital point in our nation's history, Why the Senate Slept will not disappoint.