Joint Resolution

As you learned from Schoolhouse Rock, any new laws must be passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, then signed by the President in order to become official. Joint resolution means just that—both houses of Congress and the President have passed the legislation.

Communism

Beginning with the fantastically bearded Karl Marx, communism has been a powerful force in the world since the early 1900s.

In a nutshell, communism is both an economic system and a political theory that supports the equality of classes in a society. A communist society is one where all property is owned jointly by the people (as opposed to private ownership), and everyone is paid equally based on their needs.

Might sound nice in theory, but, uh, it's complicated.

Charter of the United Nations

The United Nations is kind of like the world's government, which we've been working on since World War II. A charter is essentially a plan, or a rule book, for an organization. You could say that the Constitution is the charter of the United States—it includes the rules and roles of the government and citizens. So the Charter of the United Nations includes the rules and roles of the countries involved in the organization.

Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty

Otherwise known as the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (neato SEATO, as the cool kids called it), this was a group of eight countries from around the world who teamed up against communism in the '50s.

Regime

A tough-love, not-so-cuddly government.

Commander in Chief

According to the U.S. Constitution, the president has several jobs. (That's why they pay him the big bucks.) One of those jobs is to command the military, and the official title is "Commander in Chief" whenever the president is making military decisions.

Consonant

Besides being a not-vowel, consonant also means agreeing or being consistent with something. In Tonkin Gulf Resolution, Congress decides to give military authority to the president, and says that this action is "consonant with the Constitution," meaning in agreement with the rules.

Protocol State

In Tonkin Gulf Resolution, Congress says that the U.S. is prepared to "assist any member or protocol state" (6) of the alliance in the area. In this case, protocol state means any agreed upon rule that the alliance has established. More specifically, if the "state" (or rule) includes not having communism, then the U.S. will help fight against any communist invasions.

Concurrent

This means happening at the same time. If Congress passes a law at the same time that the president makes a decision, we'd call those two events concurrent.

Gulf of Tonkin

Geographically, this is a small body of water just off the coast of northern Vietnam. Historically, this is an incident where American ships were supposedly attacked by Vietnamese ships, resulting in the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.