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The Americans were essentially worried that if Vietnam fell to the communists, then so would other Southeast Asian countries, just like a line of dominoes. The USA then stepped in to prevent South Vietnam from falling to the north.

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12y ago
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9y ago

The domino theory applied to the United States being involved in Vietnam because communism was starting to take over Southeast Asia. Laos and Cambodia also became affected by the war in Vietnam. Other countries had tried to help and already given up by the time the United States was fully involved in the war.

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10y ago

Domino theory is important because if one country fell that meant that others would fall in the aftershock. America could not allow this because they were trying to stop communism not have other places pick it up. So the Lyndon Johnson who was the president then that he would help the South Vietnam to defeat the north so they don't fall into communism but it all went wrong with many people getting hurt and killed in the south they decided that when election came by so they could choose between communism or capitalism that they would choose communism as that seemed the better choose. but what they did not know that there would be bombings that would stop the election so they could not choose. So if the domino theory was correct then when one powerful country fell into communism that all the country's it has ties too would fall to.

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14y ago

The domino theory was simply an explanation for use in heated arguments. The press got a hold of it...and it took off.

Example: "If we don't hold the line now (against the communists), the next thing ya know they'll be swallowing up Laos! A year later, it'll be Cambodia!" "Where will it all end!?" Ok, got your point, "We will stop them at the 17th (parallel) and their designated international borders (Laos & Cambodia)!"

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13y ago

The domino theory was a foreign policy theory during the 1950s to 1980s, promoted at times by the government of the United States, that speculated that if one land in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. From the late 1950s to 1975, the United States fought in its only war that did not end in a U.S. victory. During this war, the actions that fulfilled the policies of the United States changed often over the course of four presidents and about eighteen years.

America started to slide down a slippery slope of military involvement - it launched the MAAG: Military Assistance Advisory Group. Then, in 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower was inaugurated as President. As he sends more and more monetary aid to the French, he coined the phrase "domino effect." Simply put, the domino effect stated that if one Southeast Asian country fell to communism, then all of Southeast Asia would fall. And to that end, Eisenhower said, "…The possible consequences of the loss of free countries in Southeast Asia are just incalculable to the free world." Many succeeding presidents used this term to justify their increasing involvement in Southeast Asia.

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15y ago

If Vietnam went, then the neighboring countries would be next.

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13y ago

If one country fell to communism, then the ones around that country would fall as well to communism.

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11y ago

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3y ago

It motivated U.S. leaders to aggressively fight the spread of communism.

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Q: How did the domino theory link to why the USA became increasingly involved in the war in Vietnam?
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The contest for world leadership that befan after World War 2?

You must be referring to the Cold War. The two super powers, the USA and Soviet Union were involved in war that did not lead to a hot war, but an arms race and the space race, as well as the domino theory.


Why were some USA citizens against the Vietnam war?

Opposition to Vietnam WarThe criticism of the war in Vietnam started out mainly as a conservative reaction to President Johnson's policy of fighting for a limited purpose, a negotiated peace, rather than all out victory in Vietnam. Those critics included Senator Barry Goldwater, retired military men, and even some extreme members of the John Birch Society. These people were known as "hawks." As the President escalated the war effort, and became a hawk himself, his chief critics became known as "doves" and included antiwar protesters, college students and faculty, liberal Democrats, and many other people in various walks of life who felt that the war was immoral, dragging on to no benefit for the US, and was causing increased casualty lists to mount. Many believed the US was fighting a war against the wishes of the majority of the Vietnamese people. These critics felt the war was a civil war in Vietnam between north and south and we had no business interfering. Some supported the communist effort in Vietnam and hoped for a defeat of the "imperialist capitalist" United States. Many Americans felt we were fighting a small, unimportant county, while the real enemy was China and the Soviet Union. There were many demonstrations against the war which took the form of sit ins in college and high school campuses, marches both for and against the war, and editorials written for and against the war. One of the most infamous demonstrations took place at Kent State University, 1970, when National Guard troops fired on Kent State students and protesters and four were killed and eleven were wounded. Nixon had been elected on a promise to Vietnamize the war, meaning more fighting would be turned over to the South Vietnamese army, and to start bringing home American troops. When the President ordered US troops into Cambodia and ordered more bombings, the result was a tremendous uproar at home with more marches and demonstrations. Congress reacted to the antiwar feeling and repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave the President the authority to send troops and fight the war in Vietnam. Our purpose in the war is debated to this day. Historical note:Vietnam was a part of French occupied IndoChina. After World War II, independence movements began, along with Communist expansion. In 1954, the French lost the decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu, which led to the French abandonment of the colony. Vietnam was split between the Communist North and the western-supported South.Rather than leave the Vietnamese to their own devices, the USA took over where France left off, fearing a "domino effect"; i.e. if Vietnam fell to the Communists, then the whole of South-east Asia would be vulnerable. The Americans had had a Pacific presence in the west Pacific during World War II and they were still highly influential in the politics of Japan and the Philipines; so it seemed natural to them to intervene in Vietnam. Perhaps, this was the USA's great mistake; since the Vietnam War proved to be an ordeal for the Americans. But some still reckon that the domino theory was correct since, even though the South "fell", the spread of Communism in SE Asia was halted. But arguably other factors, such as Thai Nationalism and Indonesian Islam would anyway have resisted the "Red Peril".


What are the reasons against the Vietnam War?

Main reason of the war is the expansion of Communism.The Vietnam communist party known as Vietcong accepted helped from other communist nations.Ho Chi Minh the president of North Vietnam was backed by the governments of China, Soviet Union, North Korea.The French had colonies and interests in China, and had asked for help from other Eastern European nations.The United States entered the war of Vietnam to try to stop the expansion of Communism.I'd like to start off saying those are the reasons we entered the Vietnam War not reasons against it.Some Americans felt we had no right to be there. In which case the only real reason we were there was to stop the spread of communism because the presidents during that time believed in what was known as the domino theory. Which meant if one country fell to communism eventually all surrounding countries would. Later it was known that we had no right to have so many troops in Vietnam since there was no declaration of war. Causing the government to win the people's approval by making a new law that you can only have troops in a country for 60 days before pulling them out or declaring war.


What events lead to the outbreak of world war 1 in Europe?

Many different countries building alliances and military force that when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand happened and war was declared it was like a domino effect because of all the alliances.


Why the world suffer from economic depression after World War 1?

At first, the war itself caused so much destruction that it took time for the countries involved to recover. Additionally, most of the major combatants had run up massive debts to fight the war, and struggled to pay them off. Germany had the added effects of the reparations and Ruhr occupation, which hurt their economy as well. But by the mid-1920s, most countries had largely recovered and some were actually doing better than before the war- even Germany, thanks to help from the US. However, this all came to an abrupt end in 1929. It's complicated, and the exact reasons differ based on which economist you ask, but the US suffered an economic crisis punctuated by the stock market crash of Black Tuesday in October 1929. Subsequently, the London stock market also crashed, and some major banks failed. This caused a domino effect, where other countries' economies also collapsed.

Related questions

Why did the us be come involved with the Vietnam?

They wanted to 'contain' communism to stop it spreading. They believed in the domino theory, that if Vietnam fell to communism, then so would the whole of Southeast Asia. The presidents who were involved in Vietnam were all concerned with looking tough against communism, and wanted America to appear like a strong nation. The 'quagmire theory' helps explain why successive presidents became increasingly involved; this is the belief that the US got slowly stuck in Vietnam, and it became harder and harder to withdraw commitment.


What is the difference between the Vietnam war and the Domino theory?

There is no difference. It would have been more difficult to get involved in Vietnam WITHOUT the domino theory.


Why did the us become involved in the Vietnam war-?

The US became involved in the Vietnam War in an attempt to stop the spread of Communism. The US worried that if South Vietnam fell, it would create a domino effect. The war lasted from 1955 to 1975.


How did the domino theory affect?

It caused hiim to get involved in the Vietnam War


How did the domino theory lead the US send troops to Vietnam?

The domino theory applied to the United States being involved in Vietnam because communism was starting to take over Southeast Asia. Laos and Cambodia also became affected by the war in Vietnam. Other countries had tried to help and already given up by the time the United States was fully involved in the war.


How did the domino theory affect Kennedy?

It caused hiim to get involved in the Vietnam war


What were the countries involved in Vietnam fighting for?

to keep indochina from going communist. It was part of the domino theory


Why was the methods used in Vietnam consistent with the idea of containment?

Vietnam was a domino in domino theory if communist expansion


When did American become involved in the Southeast Asia and when did they leave?

Increasingly after World War 2, especially after communism became the perceived threat. The fear was of a domino effect (one country after another collapsing as communism spread). More and more US spies entered South East Asia. Then the Vietnam war began, then it ended. US spies are still in South East Asia today.


How did the cold war influence us on Vietnam?

It became an example of the 'Domino Theory' .


What is the term used for the expansion of the Vietnam war?

You may be thinking about the domino effect. It was used to frighten the people into thinking that if Vietnam became communist, all the other countries would join them.


What does the Vietnam war and the Korean war have in common?

Both the Korean and the Vietnam Wars were fought because of the Domino Theory. It was thought that if one country became communist, nearby nations would fall under that ideology too.