The Domino Theory

First one, and then another, and then another….

ChinaOBefore World War II, China was

involved in a civil war between communists and nationalists. O Which side would America support?

Which side would the USSR support? OThe two sides had to team up to

defeat the Japanese invasion of China though during the war.

The War and Afterwards

When the war ended, the Chinese Civil War resumed. The communists won after

three years. China officially became the

People’s Republic of China with Mao Zedong as their leader.

O The Communists used guerilla warfare against the Japanese.

O The Nationalists had a huge army and were led by Chiang Kai-Shek.

Korea and CommunismO Korea had been

controlled by Japan leading into World War II.

O When the war ended, Korea became an independent nation.

O The question became would it be democratic or communist?

“The Domino Theory”O The Soviet Union

wanted Korea to be a communist state, while America wanted it to be free.

O America was worried that if Korea became communist, slowly the rest of Asia would too.

O Asian countries would fall to communism like a stack of dominos.

Containment – Part IIO Because of this fear, containment (what is that

again?) spread from a European focus to Asia. O To avoid a war that would engulf America and

Russia possibly, Korea was divided into two countries: North Korea (communist) and South Korea (democratic).

A Similar SituationO A similar thing

happened in Vietnam. O After World War II, the

Vietnamese fought for independence from France.

O The Soviet Union sent aid to try and make the country communist while America backed a democratic group.

And Elsewhere

O Other countries in Asia like Cambodia and Laos also were influenced by communist revolutionaries.

O Overall, though, a communist takeover of Asia did not occur.