- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, plunged to -26 degrees on Jan. 17, their coldest temperature in 111 years. - Montgomery, Alabama (-2), Jackson, Mississippi (-5), and Atlanta (-5) each plunged below zero. - Snow at rush hour on Jan. 11 slickened streets, stranding motorists in Atlanta.
The American public was incensed, and Johnson requested from Congress the authority to take âall necessary stepsâ to protect U.S. interests in Vietnam. Congress complied and passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August 1964.
On August 7, 1964, by a combined vote of 512-2, the Congress of the United States overwhelmingly approved joint resolution S.J. 189, more commonly known as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. In this document, Congress gives President Lyndon Baines Johnson sweeping authority to âtake all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.â