The Greer Incident compared to the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Tokin Gulf Resoultion was an incident where North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked a US ship, the Maddox and while no one got hurt, a machine gun hit the side of the Maddox. The US actually sank a South Vietnamese patrol boat. Then the next morning two destroyers were getting mixed signals about enemies approaching, and fired for two hours without a sign of an enemy in sight. At this point, Johnson wanted any excuse to have Congress make a resolution of support (get the US more involved in Vietnam), so he told them of the enemy attacks, but they were wary to believe him. The Greer Incident was an attack from a German sub on the US ship, the Greer. This could of started a war between the US and Nazi German before Pearl Harbor if we let the attack go to our head. Senator Robert Tate stated, "the administration welcomes every incident which may possibly lead to war." This means that this attack was a tool for senators that wanted war with Germany, because it shows Germany's aggression towards the US. Just like Johnson tried to convince the American people and Congress that we must get more involved in the Vietnam war, Politicians used the Greer incident to promote anti- German sentiments. In both cases, the incidents information was abused for propaganda to get the public's vote. (Johnson was in conflict with a Republican senator?)
