William fulbright, pointed out that the domino theory. Similarly, a substantial, but still a small number of cia operations and logistics. Get an answer for what did president eisenhower mean when he compared vietnam to a domino. The vietnam war and the domino theory the americanization of the war in vietnam was inevitable because of the prevailing. This is a fullblooded expression of the domino theory that if. June 1954 ngo dinh diem brought to south vietnam from the united states to be prime minister july 1954 geneva accords provisionally divide vietnam at the 17th parallel into northern vietnam under ho chi minh and southern vietnam under ngo dinh diem with elections to reunify the country scheduled for july 1956. This idea shaped the foreign policy of the united states and other western countries during the cold war. The national strategy of containment was the reason for america entering the vietnam war.
Apr 20, 2015 the evidence shows that not only was the domino theory valid, but that americas intervention in vietnam bought the time necessary for democracy to plant seeds in southeast asia, effectively stemming the tide of communism with the tragic loss of three countries and millions of lives. Dec 03, 20 on the one hand, the domino theory was justified by the spread of communism to laos and cambodia following the fall of saigon and communist takeover of vietnam in 1975. During the summer of 1963, buddhists protested about the harsh treatment they were receiving under the diem government of south vietnam. Why was vietnam important in the domino theory answers. This is not just a jungle war, but a struggle for freedom on every front of human activity. On the one hand, the domino theory was justified by the spread of communism to laos and cambodia following the fall of saigon and communist takeover of vietnam in 1975. If communism is not halted from bringing south vietnam into its domain, then it will have a domino effect on all indochina and the entire region will follow vietnam into the orb of the soviet union.
History of the domino theory minnesota remembers vietnam. The domino theory the basis of the domino theory came from the korean war because the united states learned that communism was becoming more of a threat in other countries outside of europe. In the kennedyjohnson era the domino theory was sup planted by the notion of credibility, the idea that the united states must stand firm in vietnam to demonstrate its determi nation to defend vital interests across the world. The phrase was originally used by dwight d eisenhower and has been continued to. After we withdrew from vietnam in 1973, the north vietnamese took over the south, and saigon became ho chi minh city in 1975. The vietnam war and the domino theory research paper. On april 30, 1975, as acting president general duong van minh and his cabinet surrendered to. Dec 24, 2009 read this american history research paper and over 89,000 other research documents. The cold war and find homework help for other history questions at enotes. That was the end of the spread of communism in asia. This position is made evident in the 1966 speech presented by paul hasluck, the minister for external affairs during the menzies government. Eisenhower applied it to southeast asia, especially south vietnam. The vietnam war, domino theory, viet cong, and ho chi minh.
During this most intense and dangerous period of the cold war, u. Trade, war, and migration american involvement in the war in vietnam was the result of its cold war strategy. May 15, 2012 domino theory and korea, vietnam maggiohanoverpark. How did the domino theory lead the us to send troops to. The domino theory was used by successive united states administrations during the cold war to justify the need for american intervention around the world. Actually, the domino theory was not peculiar to vietnam and did not pass out of use when the conflict came to an end. The hegemonic theory of war rests on the interaction between the challenger and the hegemon. Linkage was applied to detente with the soviet union and accommodation. The domino theory was a cold war policy that suggested a communist government in one nation would quickly lead to communist takeovers in neighboring states, each falling like a perfectly aligned row of dominos. The quiz and worksheet that accompany this lesson will utilize the thought behind the domino theory to explain the sequence of events that occurred during the vietnam war.
Its failure to take hold in the rest southeast asian countries could be explained due partially to the effects of both the korean and vietnam war. Jan 23, 2011 vietnam war, domino theory, us history. A brief history of the domino theory which was used by the usa government through the cold war. An official of the department, daniel ellsberg, gave copies of the study in 1971 to the new york times and washington post. Mar 23, 2003 but indochina proved a troubling test case once the united states became mired in vietnam. Linkage rationalized continued us fighting in vietnam long after the war had been lost. In 1996 former us secretary of defence robert mcnamara was interviewed on cnn.
The red scare played a huge role in the vietnam war and the lesser known secret war, waged concurrently in neighboring laos. Truman to justify sending military aid to greece and turkey in the 1940s, but it became popular in the 1950s when pres. Why do politicians, like president johnson, withhold information from the public and does that support the psychological theory of war. The domino theory was a geopolitical theory formed and used by the us government that governed much of us foreign policy in the time after world war 2 and during the cold war. Hardly a theory at all, since it had little or no intellectual content, the domino theory argued that if one nation vietnam fell to the communists, neighboring. The domino theory was the belief that communism would expand and spread from one country to the next until it dominated the world. Emily sandrussi, from the series domino theory, archival pigment print 50x50cm, 20. Apr 19, 2011 many americans may recall that the theory was prominent during the years leading up to the vietnam war. The domino theory and the vietnam war essay studienett. Eisenhower administration coined the term domino theory, which means. It will then map the formation of the domino theory from 1945 to 1954, and will briefly.
Laos and cambodia also became affected by the war in vietnam. Not all wars start the same way world war 1 started, but world war 1 was so catastrophic that it weighed heavily on policymakers minds well into the 1960s and 1970s. Under the domino theory, if south vietnam fell to communism. The domino logic has recently emerged with new force in the debate over american foreign policy in the postcold war era.
Pdf application of domino theory to justify and prevent. What weaknesses of psychological theory are applicable to the circumstances of the vietnam war. They were worried that it would end up spreading through all of south east asia if it took over south vietnam. The domino theory applied to the united states being involved in vietnam because communism was starting to take over southeast asia. This theory is the reason that the united states of america entered the war, its also the reason that australia and new zealand entered the war to support our allies which will be discussed more over the next few tabs.
The domino theory, containment and the truman doctrine. In the domino theory, all factors are connected and each of them is dependent on the preceding factor. The united states and the soviet union had very different expectations of how the world would look after world war ii. The theory does not have a specific and exact start and end point, but the theory was prominent in us politics and had an impact on the us society in the years between. The domino theory of accident causation stipulates that injuries occur because of a series of factors, one of which is an accident. South vietnam falls before that it was laos the rest of south. The basis of the domino theory came from the korean war because the united states learned that communism was becoming more of a threat in other countries outside of europe. Feb 10, 2011 the truman doctrine of containment lead us to support the anticommunist government in south vietnam after 1954. The domino theory, as used by makers of american foreign policy during the cold war, holds that unchecked communist activity in one state will spread to neighbouring states.
The domino theory was a theory prominent from the 1950s to the 1980s that posited that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. President who proposed the idea of the domino effect in the 1950s. The vietnam war was a result of the national strategy. The vietnam war was a result of the national strategy of containment. The national strategy of containment demanded the u. This strategy was associated with the domino theory. This domino theory is essentially the entire reason that the united states participated in the vietnam war. Under the domino theory, if south vietnam fell to communism, what was likely to happen next.
The extensive american military and diplomatic entanglement in vietnam was justified, to a large extent, by the domino theory, a principle laid out by dwight eisenhower in 1954. The domino theory vietnam veterans for factual history blog. Eisenhowers domino theory of 1954 was a specific description of the situation and conditions within southeast asia at the time, and he did not suggest a generalized domino theory as others did afterward. Americas secret war explores the untold, turbulent history. The domino theory is arguable the key aspect of the vietnam war. One school of thought which recognizes the persistence of the domino theory beyond vietnam also focusses on lessons of the past and their use in decision making. In the postwar era the united states was worried that letting the soviet union free reign in expanding at the point of a gun might lead to ww iii. The domino theory was one of the main arguments used in the kennedy and johnson administrations. Tens of thousands died, both in the fight and in the escape. Other countries like vietnam converting to communismnorth korea attempted to take over south korea and became one communist countryunited states went to war with north korea and attempted to take over their land so there would be 1 less communist country to worry about.
Pdf the vietnam war was the quintessential cold war conflict between the. Outcome of the vietnam war on march 29, 1973, the last u. Application of domino theory to justify and prevent accident occurance in construction sites article pdf available april 20 with 6,897 reads how we measure reads. Kennedys thinking and whether kennedy would have pursued the vietnam war. The domino theory was the basis for the united states strategy of containment, and the reason for entering the vietnam war. The domino theory in american foreign policy, 1947 macsphere. This means that personal injury represented as the final domino occurs only as a result of an accident and. The domino theory was shaped and influenced by a range of interrelated domestic and foreign factors and was closely related to us policy of containment which played and important role during important events of the cold war and was used as justification for the korean war and the vietnam war. Vietnam was a domino in domino theory if communist expansion asked in science, vietnam war, political science, international relations what is meant by the domino theory in terms of vietnam. This survey has evolved into what is known as the domino theory.
Secondly, the domino theory played a huge party in australias reasons in going to war, as the takeover of south vietnam would be a military threat to australia. Australia, the domino theory and the vietnam war wattpad. So, by extension, this domino theory is the reason that the things they carried was written and thus provides a background into the generally unwanted involvement in this war. What are some arguments against the domino theory in vietnam.
Our military and economic assistance to south vietnam and laos in particular has the purpose of helping these countries to repel aggression and strengthen their independence. We have no military, political, or territorial ambitions in the area. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our cookie policy. In the shadows of the vietnam war, the cia conducted a secret war in laos that relied on hmong soldiers to prevent the threat of communism from spreading deeper into southeast asia. The countries that had been french indochina all became communist, but except for south vietnam they did so in the 1950s.
1220 213 1234 811 1099 1331 727 294 608 598 1381 1515 459 684 1011 816 590 341 1505 438 1224 1102 990 1347 225 1043 1363 48 945 135 1141 286 1074