Revisiting the Gulf of Tonkin Crisis
An Analysis of the Private Communication of President Johnson and his Advisers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12253166 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Moya Ann Ball (Trinity University, Texas, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1991 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 281-296 |
| Publication date | 1991-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Discourse & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0957-9265 • E-ISSN: 1460-3624 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0957926591002003002 |
| OpenAlex | W2062274738 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 13 |
This essay explains how the rhetorical response of President Johnson and his advisers to the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964 provides a paradigm case of how a confusing set of events can be given interpretation and structure by means of dramatizing communication. Although the Tonkin events were largely unsubstantiated, narratives were shared in which a hostile enemy had deliberately attacked American vessels on routine patrols. Consequently, American prestige and power were being tested before the world. The confusing events, therefore, were lined up into a more familiar story which then became the justification for further action. The dramatizations swept through private decision-making groups and into the legislative and administrative branches of government resulting in the passage of a congressional resolution. This resolution was the legal weapon needed to expand greatly American involvement in the Vietnam War
Action (physics · Adversary · Art · Government (linguistics · Interpretation (philosophy · Legislature · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Political science · Power (physics · Prestige · Rhetorical question · Sociology · History · Law · Literature, Film, and Journalism Analysis · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Rhetoric and Communication Studies
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,17 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2020 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |