VIETNAM WAR - 07. THE DOMINO THEORY AND GENEVA CONFERENCE

1. VIETNAM
WAR
DOMINO THEORY
AND GENEVA
CONFERENCE
7

2. THE GENEVA PEACE CONFERENCE
After the defeat of the French at Dien
Bien Phu a peace conference was held
at Geneva in February 1954.
Britain, France, the USSR, and the
United States agreed to hold a
conference to deal with the wars in
Korea and Indochina.
The USA were determined not to
compromise with the Communists.

3. CONDITIONS • Vietnam would be split along the
17th parallel. Viet Minh would
control the North of Vietnam and
the Democratic State of Vietnam
would control the South.
• Within 300 days the Viet Minh had
to move all of its troops into North
Vietnam.
• All French troops were to leave
Vietnam.

4. GENEVA CONFERENCE VIDEO
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCwbVG2HCxs

5. CONDITIONS cont.
• All civilians were allowed to move between North and
South Vietnam within 200 days.
• Laos and Cambodia were recognised as independent
states.
• A nation wide election would be held to reunify the
country in 1956.
• A demilitarised zone (buffer zone) would be created
between the North and the South.

6. HO CHI MINH POPULARITY
The proposed 1956 election created a real problem for the
United States. They knew that they could not allow it to
take place due to the extreme popularity of Ho Chi Minh.
The Americans were determined to protect South
Vietnam from becoming a part of a united Communist
Vietnam.
The Domino Theory was put into practice.

7. DOMINO THEORY VIDEO
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUn39VzSBms

8. WHAT WAS DOMINO THEORY?
The domino theory said that a communist victory in one
nation would quickly lead to a chain reaction of
communist takeovers in neighbouring states.
USA used the domino theory to justify its support of a non-
communist regime in South Vietnam against the
communist government of North Vietnam.

9. RESULT
Though communist regimes did arise in Laos and
Cambodia after 1975, communism failed to spread
throughout the rest of Southeast Asia.