Chat with our AI personalities
The Domino Theory became well known during Eisenhower¹s term. The hypothesis behind the Domino theory was that once one nation fell to Communism, the others would fall like Dominoes and thus all of Asia would be under the control of the communists.
On the surface, the Truman Doctrine was to offer military and economic aid to the fighters attempting to repel Soviet backed forces in Greece and Turkey. However, the Truman Doctrine also allowed the U.S. and its allies to practice what would be called the Containment Theory. The theory said that Communism had to be contained in countries already exposed to Communism so they would not spread. If they spread to one country, the surrounding countries would also pick up Communism, in a domino effect that would cause the entire world to be Communist. This is a partial cause of the Vietnam War, attempting to aid in economic and military means, the South Vietnamese, who were trying to keep Communism contained to the north.
Anno Domino
He recommended "Containment", which remained the official US policy until after the Vietnam war. Its end was also influenced by the fact that it then also transpired that the 'Domino theory" of the USA was incorrect, which held that if one nation fell to Communism, all its neighbors were bound to follow. They didn't. The Containment policy held that Communism should remain contained within the areas where it was dominant around 1949; and that any effort of Communist countries or forces to expand beyond those areas should be forcibly repulsed by the USA. This policy led to US involvement in Cuba (the Bay of Pigs-disaster and the missile crisis), in the Korean war and in the Vietnam war.
LBJ entered Vietnam because he wanted to make sure South Vietnam did not fal to communism. He felt that we were a large enough superpower to overcome Vietnam in a short amount of time. He obviously was wrong.