The Domino Theory

The domino theory was a Cold War idea in the United States that if communists took over one government in a region that communism would spread into neighboring countries—each country falling to communism like dominos lined up in a row.

Where did the Domino theory originate?

American President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 – 1969) used the theory to justify American support for non-communists in the former French colony of Vietnam in a speech in 1954. He said,

"You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Impacts of the Domino theory

The domino theory resulted in America using the policy of containment to resist the expansion of communism. The Americans did this by

1

using its military to fight communist movements and governments in places like Vietnam

2

supplying money, weapons, and political support to anti-communist groups who resisted communist expansion in their countries.