How did the domino theory lead the us to send troops to. The vietnam war, domino theory, viet cong, and ho chi minh. This position is made evident in the 1966 speech presented by paul hasluck, the minister for external affairs during the menzies government. Dec 24, 2009 read this american history research paper and over 89,000 other research documents. 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.
The phrase was originally used by dwight d eisenhower and has been continued to. They were worried that it would end up spreading through all of south east asia if it took over south vietnam. Why do politicians, like president johnson, withhold information from the public and does that support the psychological theory of war. William fulbright, pointed out that the domino theory. 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. The domino theory, containment and the truman doctrine. 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. Emily sandrussi, from the series domino theory, archival pigment print 50x50cm, 20. An official of the department, daniel ellsberg, gave copies of the study in 1971 to the new york times and washington post. The domino theory was one of the main arguments used in the kennedy and johnson administrations. Pdf the vietnam war was the quintessential cold war conflict between the.
Why was vietnam important in the domino theory answers. The united states and the soviet union had very different expectations of how the world would look after world war ii. A brief history of the domino theory which was used by the usa government through the cold war. Linkage was applied to detente with the soviet union and accommodation. Similarly, a substantial, but still a small number of cia operations and logistics. This domino theory is essentially the entire reason that the united states participated in the vietnam war. This strategy was associated with the domino theory. On april 30, 1975, as acting president general duong van minh and his cabinet surrendered to. The domino theory is arguable the key aspect of the vietnam war.
The vietnam war and the domino theory the americanization of the war in vietnam was inevitable because of the prevailing. President who proposed the idea of the domino effect in the 1950s. 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. Apr 19, 2011 many americans may recall that the theory was prominent during the years leading up to the vietnam war. Trade, war, and migration american involvement in the war in vietnam was the result of its cold war strategy. 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 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. This idea shaped the foreign policy of the united states and other western countries during the cold war. The vietnam war was a result of the national strategy of containment. The countries that had been french indochina all became communist, but except for south vietnam they did so in the 1950s.
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. 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. It will then map the formation of the domino theory from 1945 to 1954, and will briefly. History of the domino theory minnesota remembers vietnam. What weaknesses of psychological theory are applicable to the circumstances of the vietnam war. 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.
By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. 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. During the summer of 1963, buddhists protested about the harsh treatment they were receiving under the diem government of south vietnam. During this most intense and dangerous period of the cold war, u. Truman to justify sending military aid to greece and turkey in the 1940s, but it became popular in the 1950s when pres. 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. 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. The hegemonic theory of war rests on the interaction between the challenger and the hegemon. 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. 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. Eisenhower administration coined the term domino theory, which means.
The domino theory of accident causation stipulates that injuries occur because of a series of factors, one of which is an accident. Eisenhower applied it to southeast asia, especially south vietnam. Get an answer for what did president eisenhower mean when he compared vietnam to a domino. 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. In the domino theory, all factors are connected and each of them is dependent on the preceding factor. This survey has evolved into what is known as the domino theory. In 1996 former us secretary of defence robert mcnamara was interviewed on cnn. 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 domino logic has recently emerged with new force in the debate over american foreign policy in the postcold war era. The national strategy of containment demanded the u. 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.
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. 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. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our cookie policy. 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. Jan 23, 2011 vietnam war, domino theory, us history. 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. This means that personal injury represented as the final domino occurs only as a result of an accident and. Australia, the domino theory and the vietnam war wattpad. The domino theory applied to the united states being involved in vietnam because communism was starting to take over southeast asia. That was the end of the spread of communism in asia. The domino theory was the belief that communism would expand and spread from one country to the next until it dominated the world. The red scare played a huge role in the vietnam war and the lesser known secret war, waged concurrently in neighboring laos. 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.
Mar 23, 2003 but indochina proved a troubling test case once the united states became mired in vietnam. May 15, 2012 domino theory and korea, vietnam maggiohanoverpark. Tens of thousands died, both in the fight and in the escape. Feb 10, 2011 the truman doctrine of containment lead us to support the anticommunist government in south vietnam after 1954. This is a fullblooded expression of the domino theory that if. 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.
Outcome of the vietnam war on march 29, 1973, the last u. Under the domino theory, if south vietnam fell to communism, what was likely to happen next. Under the domino theory, if south vietnam fell to communism. Laos and cambodia also became affected by the war in vietnam. The domino theory vietnam veterans for factual history blog. 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. Kennedys thinking and whether kennedy would have pursued the vietnam war.
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. The domino theory and the vietnam war essay studienett. The cold war and find homework help for other history questions at enotes. Pdf application of domino theory to justify and prevent. 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. 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. We have no military, political, or territorial ambitions in the area.
After we withdrew from vietnam in 1973, the north vietnamese took over the south, and saigon became ho chi minh city in 1975. 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. 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. Actually, the domino theory was not peculiar to vietnam and did not pass out of use when the conflict came to an end. The national strategy of containment was the reason for america entering the vietnam war. Linkage rationalized continued us fighting in vietnam long after the war had been lost. The domino theory was the basis for the united states strategy of containment, and the reason for entering the vietnam war.
The domino theory was used by successive united states administrations during the cold war to justify the need for american intervention around the world. What are some arguments against the domino theory in vietnam. Americas secret war explores the untold, turbulent history. South vietnam falls before that it was laos the rest of south.
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