Domino Vietnam War

Vietnam War: Brought about by Fear

The Vietnam War was not started because of a direct or immediate threat to the United States. It was started by the build up of a perceived threat of expanding communism,which was promoted by President Eisenhower. Overall, President Eisenhower was primarily responsible for setting the stage and culture of fear that put the United States on a direct path towards war in Vietnam. Although President Johnson officially brought the United States into the Vietnam war, President Eisenhower’s articulation of the “Domino Theory” heavily influenced his decision making as well as the decision making of President Kennedy and Johnson(Anderson 28). President Eisenhower began the United States involvement

Eisenhower, being a powerful and historical military man, sets the culture around the United States thinking about the threat of communism and the importance of Vietnam. On April 7, 1954, Eisenhower articulated one of the most famous Cold War phrases when he suggests the fall of French Indochina to the communists could create a “domino” effect in Southeast Asia(Anderson 28). This “domino theory” was the core and center stage of United States thinking and decision making from President Eisenhower to Johnson. Eisenhower stated: “You have broader considerations that might follow what you would call the ‘falling domino’ principle. You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is a certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences"(Anderson 28). The fear that the loss of Vietnam to communism would quickly lead to the fall of Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan(Anderson 28). This would not only affect the important south pacific trade area but could eventually lead to a challenge of the United States way of life. The strong belief in the “domino theory” guided Eisenhower’s decision making especially as the likelihood the area would become communist

On May 7, 1954, approximately 10,000 French soldiers surrender at Dien Bien Phu(Anderson 44). At this point, the death tolls included approximately 8000 Viet Minh and 1500 French (Anderson 44). Sadly, many of the French survivors were sent to prison camps where they died. The French had lost control their colony which included Vietnam. In July of 1954, attempts were made to bring peace to the area through the Geneva Accords(Cuddy 354). This attempt was destined to fail because of the growing mistrust and paranoia of the communist threat to the western lifestyle. The United States and South Vietnam recognized the Geneva Accords but refused to sign them. The Geneva Accords called for the country of Vietnam to be unified through an election for one leader(Cuddy 354). This stipulation could not be supported by Eisenhower because the leader he supported in South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, would lose to the Communist Leader of North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh(Cuddy 354). The unified country of Vietnam would almost certainly become communist. The United States worked strategically behind the scenes of the international recommendations brought upon in the Geneva Accords because Eisenhower did not like the likely outcome(Cuddy 355). At this point, the fear of communism caused the United States to intervene and assert their beliefs plus