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“the cornerstone of the Free World in South-
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in the dike, and should the red tide of Com-
munism pour into it ... much of Asia would be
threatened.”^
The domino theory demanded active
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successive presidential administrations.
)\TMI[\Å^MUIRWZ_IZIQU[_MZM][ML\W
R][\QNa []XXWZ\QVO \PM ;W]\P >QM\VIUM[M
OW^MZVUMV\ IVL KWV\QV]QVO \W ÅOP\ \PM
>QM\VIU?IZ"- Contain communism
- Spread democracy, or at least hold it
in places where it already existed - Demonstrate resolve to various
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>QVLQKI\MVI\QWVITPWVWZ - Protect the personal reputation and
credibility of the president
<PMÅZ[\=;_IZIQU was to contain com-
munism. In the early years of the Cold War
the United States had to decide on a policy to
deal with the apparently insatiable, ubiqui-
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should return to its prewar isolationist poli-
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safe in North America. Other people, al-John F. Kennedy,
at a news conference
on March 23, 1961,
pointed to communist
gains in Laos and
called for the Soviet
Union and North
Vietnam to stop their
support for the
Laotian rebels.
“No one should
doubt our resolution
on this point,” the
president said.\PW]OPKWVKMZVMLIJW]\\PM¹:ML5MVIKMºNMT\\PI\Q\_I[\QUMNWZ
Americans to care for their own. At the other end of the spectrum
were those who believed the U.S. should not only stand up to this
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Kennan and his “X Article,” published in .WZMQOV)ЄIQZ[ in 1947.
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MQ\PMZ\PMJZMIS̆]XWZ\PMOZIL]ITUMTTW_QVOWN;W^QM\XW_MZ “
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Harry S. Truman’s presidency, policies and institutions were estab-
lished, such as the Truman Doctrine (to support democracies every-
where) and NATO. U.S. leaders saw the defense of a quasi-democratic,
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Eisenhower embraced Truman’s containment policy and its appli-
cation to Far Eastern “dominoes.” In a 1959 speech, he said, “The loss
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MVKMPMKITTMLW]\KWUU]VQ[\IK\Q^Q\aQV4IW[)VI\QWVIT[MK]ZQ\a