The Vietnam War and the Domino Theory

The Vietnam War and the Domino Theory

The Americanization of the war in Vietnam was inevitable because of the prevailing belief of the “domino theory” that could take effect. The Domino Theory, which President Harry Truman first articulated in the1940’s, is the belief that the fall of one noncommunist state to communism would precipitate the fall of other neighboring noncommunist states (Shabecoff). This theory is the identical strategy that Communist China planned to achieve, with Vietnam as on of their first targets.

Mao Tse-Tung’s 1953 proposal to the Soviet Union brought to life the very fear that the domino theory foreshadowed. The plan entitled, “Memorandum on a New Program for World Revolution”, was a detailed plan for world conquest, in which every country, except the United States, would be communist-controlled by 1973 (Rivera). The first phase was to be completed by 1960 and called for Korea and Indochina to be under Chinese control. The Korean War of the early nineteen-fifties can be viewed as proof that these were serious plans China intended to follow. The end of the war resulted in a divided Korea in which China, along with the USSR, aided in establishing North Korea as a communist state where American support influence democracy in the south.

The “domino theory” became popular belief in 1954 when President Eisenhower applied its premise to the ongoing struggle in Vietnam. Eisenhower stated in a news conference “…The possible consequences of the loss [of free countries in Southeast Asia] are just incalculable to the free world.” The loss Eisenhower speaks of is more than just the loss of a country to communism, but the loss of major resources and trade that the entire world receives from the Southeast Asian countries. Materials such as tin and tungsten, which is used to make light bulbs and such, are located in this region. The President goes on to predict that it would only be a matter of time that Japan and Australia would be pushed into communism merely because their close proximity to Southeast Asia. Eisenhower believed that the domino theory would begin or end with the loss or victory of the war in Vietnam. Hence forth, the United States sent military aid and resources to help the French who were fighting in Vietnam. From this time forward America is extremely invested in a political and economic war against Communism in Vietnam. However after the war, President Henry Ford, in an address to faculty and students at the University of Norte Dame, summarizes the very essence of why the war in Vietnam was so vital and why we held on for so long.

“If we have one country after another - allies of the United