The Domino Theory lead to the USA justifying the need for American intervention in VietnamThe Domino Theory was a hugely significant cause of the escalation and occurrence of the Second Indochina War. Throughout the 1950’s, the US became increasingly concerned about the threat of communism, especially in Southeast Asia, which ultimately led to the formation of the Domino Theory. The Domino theory was initially introduced by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the 7th of April 1954, where the President explained, “You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences.” This escalated the fear of communism in the US as the President continued to justify the negative effects of communism in Asia, “...people passing under this domination, Asia, after all, has already lost some 450 million of its peoples to the Communist dictatorship, and we simply can’t afford greater losses.” The Domino theory was believed to be a strong enough reason to justify American intervention in Vietnam and was a huge driving force behind the decision to escalate the US support for the South Vietnamese government as they began to send what totalled to 2,709,918 US troops to aid the battle against communism. The Domino Theory also prompted the US to seek the support of other countries such as Australia and New Zealand who they became allies with due to the signing of the ANZUS and SEATO treaties that were formed as it was believed that once communism had spread in Asia, the pacific would also become vulnerable.
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US President Dwight D. Eisenhower expresses the USA's stance on communism
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The assassination of Ngo Dihn DiemA significant short term cause of the Second Indochina War was the assassination of Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother in 1963 following the fall of Saigon and the South-Vietnamese Government. Diem first took to the role of Prime Minister on the 7th of July in 1954. In 1955 the USA showed their support for Diem and the ‘anti-communist’ efforts of the South Vietnamese government as Diem’s government received $322 million in aid from the US Government. Diem proceeded to make his government a family affair by placing many of his own family members in high-ranking political positions. By 1958, Diem had 40,000 political prisoners in South-Vietnamese goals which increased to 150,000 by 1961. These prisoners were accused of demonstrating or supporting communist activity or opposing the South Vietnamese government. Between 1955 and 1957, 12,000 prisoners had been killed. American began to grow uncomfortable with the actions of their allies as it had become clear that Diem’s strict and oppressive anti communist and pro-catholic regime was creating enemies around the world. This resulted in America beginning to openly supporting the Buddhists and withdrawing their support for the South Vietnamese government. Following the fall of Saigon, Diem and his brother were assassinated after fleeing the Presidential Palace in Saigon. It was later discovered that the US may have had involvement in the occurrence of the brutal assassinations.
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The First Indochina War and Vietnam's history of foreign domination
Vietnam has a history of domination from foreign powers that has continued for centuries and centuries. For 1000 years, China dominated Vietnam which was then named “Annam” which translates to “pacified south”, as the Chinese introduced Confucianism to Vietnam along with morals and values typical of ancient Chinese tradition. The Chinese reign sparked the Vietnamese’ desire to learn as well as introducing Buddhism to Vietnam which would become the most prominent religion within the country. However the Vietnamese continued to rebel under the Chinese rule, and while their efforts were swiftly crushed, the Vietnamese began to develop what would continue to strengthen, their sense of nationalism as the Vietnamese continued to demonstrate the desire to control their own nation. This age old sense of nationalism was able to be capitalised on in the following two indochina wars in a bid to complete their ultimately successful battles against foreign domination that resulted in the defeat of the French and American soldiers. For almost a century the French dominated Vietnam, however the country's determination for control of their own country was evident, as it took the French 25 years to achieve just the initial conquest. As the French occupied Vietnam, they began to impart their “mission of civilisation”, in which they began teaching Catholic values in schools in a bid to undermine the Confucian based teaching efforts of the Chinese that dominated before them as well as the prevalence of the worshipping of the Buddhist religion. The end of the First Indochina War ended after the Japanese used the Nazi domination of France as an opportunity to take over their occupation in Vietnam before declaring Vietnam and independent state in 1945. This strong history of domination by foreign powers as well as the occurrence of the First Indochina War left the Vietnamese with a developed sense of nationalism as well as values, religious beliefs and teachings from both ancient Chinese and French culture which created a diverse nation. The First Indochina War was between the newly formed Viet Minh and the nationalist communist movement and continued to occur in the classic pattern of traditional Guerilla warfare as the French supported the Nationalist movement by providing them with soldiers and other military resources. America’s fear of ‘imperialistic communism’ meant that they felt obliged to support the French in their efforts against the Viet Minh which led to their economic contribution by the end of the war totalling a huge $2.5 billion, amounting to 80% of the costs of the total war. The battle of Dien Bien Phu and the Geneva conference resulted in a ceasefire arrangement and Vietnam was promptly divided into North and South Vietnam, split by the 17th parallel.
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