April 7, 1954

On This Date in TWISTED-HISTORY.com in 1954 President Eisenhower gave his “Domino Theory” speech. This was the theory that if one country fell to communism, the surrounding countries would follow suit like a line of dominoes and it was a major part of US foreign policy from the 1950s to the 1990s. It was because of this theory that the US intervened in Korea and Vietnam, with the results of these two wars leading to the theory following out of favor in the 1980s. What US policy makers did not account for was that Communism, much like any form of government, is changed and adapted by the people of the country and region that adopt it. Russian communism was not the same as Chinese communism which was not the same as North Korean communism which was not the same Vietnamese communism. Each people put their own stamp on it just as they do for democracy or for a monarchy or theocracy. People of a region would only choose communism if it made a better life for them and their families or if another country forcefully made them change, and that change would only last as long as the other county’s armies stayed in place. Which was true for any form of government.

About Joel Byers

Born in North Georgia and educated at some very fine public institutions. Real education started after graduating from college and then getting married and raising two boys. Has the ability to see the funny and absurd in most things and will always remark on it, even if it means getting the stink-eye from his victims.
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