14. Lyndon B. Johnson’s Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson used the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to significantly expand U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, without a formal declaration of war. This resolution granted Johnson broad military powers, circumventing Congress’s constitutional authority to declare war. The move intensified debates over the executive branch’s military authority and highlighted the potential for presidents to engage in military conflicts with limited legislative oversight.
