To put an end to the communist threat that was uprising in Vietnam, which was started by Ho-Chi-Mihn. Also to support the democratic South Vietnam.
We did not support escalation in Vietnam except for a small amount who were afraid of communism. The war escalated after the Tet Offensive primarily, which was actually an action of the Vietnamese.
He didn't; Presidents Kennedy and Johnson wanted to increase it in response to escalation of North Vietnamese aggression.
The US just won WWII! Just won Korea! In both wars with FIREPOWER! Why play games with the commies (was their way of thinking)...use FIREPOWER again and win the darn thing! In either case; President Johnson remembered the atom bomb and the invasion of North Korea which brought in Red China; which escalated the Korean War into a bloody mess. Consequently, cooler heads prevailed...and there would be no nukes in Vietnam nor any invasion of North Vietnam.
Johnson was actually carrying out what was called the Truman Doctrine (after President Harry Truman) who advocated the containment of communism. Johnson's approach was a gradually increasing military involvement which was known as escalation. His purpose was simply to prevent communist North Vietnam from taking over non-communist South Vietnam. And certainly, he had Congressional support. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to support him.
We did not support escalation in Vietnam except for a small amount who were afraid of communism. The war escalated after the Tet Offensive primarily, which was actually an action of the Vietnamese.
Vietnam had been a news worthy world event since the Kennedy Administration in the early 60's, and it slowly escalated during the Johnson Administration in the mid 60's. Due to the military draft during both administrations, support for the war had always been lukewarm...the common man in the US could see that with escalation of the war, came an escalation in the draft; by 1965 the US draft was hitting the 40,000 men a month mark. The first US (officially noted) anti-war protests had already hit the streets as early as 1963; well before Johnson's "Tonkin Gulf Resolution." But when WWII veterans, and WWII War Correspondents, such as Walter Cronkite turned against the war on Nation-Wide TV during the 1968 TET Offensive in South Vietnam; it was as President Johnson stated, "...if I've lost Cronkite, I've lost the war." TET (1968) was the straw that broke the camel's back.
The Tonkin Gulf Incident swung public opinion behind LBJ. A US service vessel had been attacked in international waters. This later came under suspicion.
All the above .
He didn't
Johnson wanted their support for his Vietnam War Policy.
Senators who wanted to shrink the government
Hawks believed Vietnam was a crucial front in the Cold War