The Domino Theory Joanna Creason Liza Lampros Priyanka

The Domino Theory Joanna Creason, Liza Lampros, Priyanka Patil

What is it? • The idea that if one key nation in a region fell to control of communists, others would follow like toppling dominoes. • According to theory, nations on the borders of communist nations could be considered under threat, potentially falling like dominoes to communist influence and setting up a situation in which communism would rapidly spread across a region or perhaps even an entire continent. • The domino theory is a theory which was promoted by American foreign policy analysts during the 1950 s and 1960 s. • The theory built on worldwide fears about communism, using the spread of the communism after the Second World War to illustrate the power of communist nations to seize and influence their neighbors.

Facts • Domino theory governed most of US foreign policy laws in early 1950's. • The first mention of the domino theory occurred in a speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954. • Eisenhower used this theory to explain why American intervention in Asia was crucial, because he suggested that it could lead to the spread of the “iron curtain” of communist control. • Walt Rostow and Lee Kuan Yew have argued that the U. S. intervention in Indochina, by giving the nations of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) time to combine and engage in economic growth, prevented a wider domino effect.

Eisenhower's Speech • During a press conference on April 7, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower laid out the first major defense of the domino theory. • He was referencing the battle between French forces and the Vietminh (the communist forces of North Vietnam), and he began by explaining how economically important Vietnam was to the U. S. • If South Vietnam fell, then Laos would be next; and after that, Thailand Burma, and that would lead communists to the doorstep of India, a strong ally of the United States. • Even Japan, Eisenhower warned, could be in danger of toppling, another domino in the row. *** All of this is in correlation to the Vietnam War

History • September 1945 - Vietnam claimed independence from France • Began war that caused Ho Chi Minh's communist led North Vietnam against a French- backed non- communist South Vietnam • Under Harry S. Truman, the US gov. provided military and financial aid to South Vietnam • In addition to protecting free states, of course, this intervention would also ensure that the United States would have an entry point into regions of interest, and it could maintain profitable trade agreements with these nations. • The domino theory heavily influenced American foreign policy during the 1950 s and 1960 s, setting the stage for the invasion of Vietnam and justifying American activities in Korea during the Korean War. • In the 1980 s, the domino theory cropped up again, used by the Reagan administration to support invasion of several South American countries by American troops. • Most European nations were fatigued and economically exhausted after years of war. Their governments were weak and their people depressed, desperate and starving. • This made them easy prey to communist infiltration and propaganda.

History pt. II • Asia was just as susceptible to communist incursion. • The governments and military forces of most Asian nations were comparatively weak. Their populations contained large numbers of peasants, who were susceptible to communist propaganda and recruitment. • Nationalist and independence movements in Asia were considered ideal ‘hiding places’ for communist infiltrators. Asian borders were not well policed and were largely insecure, so communists could move in and out of target countries with ease. • The Domino Theory was also underpinned by assumptions about Chinese expansion. • Western planners believed that China would act as a vanguard for advancing communism in Asia, much as Soviet Russia had done in eastern Europe. • Chinese troops supported the communist invasion of South Korea during the Korean War (1950 -53). • As Chinese economic and military capacity increased, the West believed China would export communism to create a buffer between itself and potential threats. • This placed a number of countries at risk of communist aggression, including South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Burma, Tibet, Malaya, Singapore and Indonesia.

Arguments In Favor • The main evidence for the domino theory was the communist takeover of 3 Southeast Asian countries. • This had happened after the United States pulled its troops out of the region after the Vietnam War. • Some supporters of the Domino Theory also note the history of governments that were communist that were supplying aid to communist revolutionaries in neighboring countries. For instance, China supplied the North Vietnamese Army with troops and supplies and the soviet union provided them with tanks and heavy weapons. • The fact that Pathet Lao and Khemer Rouge both started as part of the North Vietnamese army gives even more proof to theory. • However, proponents ultimately believe that the efforts during the containment (i. e. Domino Theory) period, ultimately led the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. • "The weaker and poorer a country is, the more dangerous it is as an example. If a tiny, poor country like Grenada can succeed in bringing about a better life for its people, some other place that has more resources will ask, 'Why not us? '"

Arguments pt. II Against • The main evidence against the domino theory is the failure for communism to take over Thailand, Indonesia, and other large Southern Asian countries after the end of the Vietnam war as Eisenhower's speech warned that it could. • Some proponents of this theory, though, will argue that this is due to the effects of both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. People who were against theory said that Indochinese were largely indigenous or nationalist and that "world communism" could not exist.

Examples of Different Domino Effects

What does this have to do with us? • The French lost a major battle to Minh's forces at a place called Dien Bien Phu, which led ultimately to France's withdrawal from Vietnam. • In the years that followed, the United States under Eisenhower and then under John F. Kennedy supported the South Vietnamese government, even as it remained locked in an ongoing struggle with the North Vietnamese, as well as South Vietnamese communist guerrillas who called themselves the Vietcong. • As the fighting between the Vietcong and South Vietnamese forces intensified through 1963, American military leaders began to clamor for increased involvement. • The death of John Kennedy in November 1963 brought a new president, Lyndon Johnson, who also promoted the domino theory as justification for U. S. involvement in Vietnam. • Under his administration, the U. S. would openly send combat troops into Vietnam for the first time.

Thank You!