Home Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
domino theory
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
Harry S. Truman
Quizzes
The original copy of the constitution of the United States; housed in the National Archives, Washington, D.C.
American History and Politics Quiz
Thermonuclear hydrogen bomb, code-named MIKE, detonated in the Marshall Islands in the fall of 1952. Photo taken at a height of 12,000 feet, 50 miles from the detonation site. (Photo 3 of a series of 8) Atomic bomb explosion nuclear energy hydrogen energy
Facts You Should Know: The Cold War Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Vietnam War. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson awards the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant Marty A. Hammer, during a visit to military personnel, Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, October 26, 1966. President Johnson
Vietnam War Timeline
Vietnam War. Fall of Saigon. Helicopter pilot radio transmissions during the United States Saigon evacuation dated: April 29, April 30, 1975. Partial text: 200 Americans left... Do not let South Viets follow too closely. Use Mace...do not fire...
40th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon
President Richard M. Nixon smiles and gives the victory sign as he boards the White House helicopter after his resignation on August 9, 1974 in Washington, D.C.
Timeline of the 1970s
Bar graph of the United States Death Toll during major events. Infogram chart.
U.S. Death Toll During Major Events
Vietnam War. Operation Georgia. U.S. Marines bombing bunkers and tunnels used by the Viet Cong. May 6, 1966
9 Questions About the Vietnam War Answered
Discover
Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd
Causes of the Great Depression
Solar eclipse of the sun.
The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses
Washington DC.,USA, April 26, 1989. Supporters for and against legal abortion face off during a protest outside the United States Supreme Court Building during Webster V Health Services
Pro and Con: Abortion
Young boys working in a thread spinning mill in Macon, Georgia, 1909. Boys are so small they have to climb onto the spinning frame to reach and fix broken threads and put back empty bobbins. Child labor. Industrial revolution
The Rise of the Machines: Pros and Cons of the Industrial Revolution
solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space
How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?
Albert Einstein in Washington, D.C. c. 1921-1923. Physicist
The Solar Eclipse That Made Albert Einstein a Science Celebrity
Young men throw balloons and glitter from above the mosque at the celebration Eid Al-Fitr after prayers playing with balloons outside of Al-seddeeq mosque, Al-Mansourah, Egypt. 17 July 2015.
Eid al-Fitr
History & Society

domino theory

international relations
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/topic/domino-theory
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Print
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/topic/domino-theory
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Also known as: domino effect
Article History
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
See all media
Category: History & Society
Also called:
domino effect
Related Topics:
international relations
See all related content →

domino theory, theory adopted in U.S. foreign policy after World War II according to which the “fall” of a noncommunist state to communism would precipitate the fall of noncommunist governments in neighbouring states. The theory was first proposed by Pres. Harry S. Truman to justify sending military aid to Greece and Turkey in the 1940s, but it became popular in the 1950s when Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower applied it to Southeast Asia, especially South Vietnam. The domino theory was one of the main arguments used in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations during the 1960s to justify increasing American military involvement in the Vietnam War.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Brian Duignan.