As an expert in the field of history, particularly in the area of American foreign policy and military engagements, I can provide a detailed account of the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War and the presidential actions that led to the escalation of the conflict. The Vietnam War was a long, costly, and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It is important to clarify that no U.S. President officially "declared war" on Vietnam in the traditional sense. The U.S. involvement in Vietnam escalated incrementally, beginning with support for the French colonial forces after World War II and continuing with various degrees of military aid and advisory support to South Vietnam during the 1950s and early 1960s. President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated the American involvement in Vietnam by providing financial aid and military advisors to the French colonial forces and later to the South Vietnamese government. However, this was not a declaration of war. President John F. Kennedy increased the number of military advisors in Vietnam and approved covert operations against North Vietnam, but he did not commit large-scale combat troops. The significant escalation of U.S. involvement came under President Lyndon B. Johnson. In August 1964, following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, which involved two separate confrontations involving North Vietnam and U.S. Navy destroyers, Johnson sought and received from Congress the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This resolution granted the President the authority to assist any Southeast Asian country whose government was considered to be jeopardized by "communist aggression." Although not a formal declaration of war, the resolution effectively gave Johnson the power to conduct military operations in Vietnam without a formal declaration. The U.S. military presence in Vietnam increased dramatically under Johnson, with hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops being deployed by 1968. President Richard Nixon, who took office in 1969, sought to end U.S. involvement in the war through a policy of "Vietnamization," which aimed to gradually transfer the combat role to the South Vietnamese forces while withdrawing U.S. troops. Despite the ongoing conflict, Nixon did not declare war on Vietnam. Instead, he continued military operations, including the secret bombing of Cambodia, which was not publicly disclosed until 1973. After Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in January 1971 and President Richard Nixon continued to wage war in Vietnam, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution (Pub.L. 93-148) over the veto of Nixon in an attempt to rein in some of the president's claimed powers. The War Powers Resolution was designed to check the president's ability to commit U.S. armed forces to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. In summary, while no U.S. President formally declared war on Vietnam, it was under President Johnson that the United States entered into full-scale conflict with the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. The war continued under Nixon with the aim of achieving a peaceful resolution through diplomacy and a gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces. read more >>

After Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in January 1971 and President Richard Nixon continued to wage war in Vietnam, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution (Pub.L. 93-C148) over the veto of Nixon in an attempt to rein in some of the president's claimed powers.read more >>