Results of the War in South Vietnam
The Domino TheoryThe United States worried that if South Vietnam fell to communism, the rest of Southeast Asia would follow. This theory, also known as the Domino Theory, is the reason why the United States took extreme measures to contain communism to North Vietnam. Clearly, this was not the result of the war. Although some countries, including Cambodia and Laos, did fall to communism, the world was not overridden with the political system that Americans so greatly feared. Many Americans were not happy with this outcome as they felt that they had fought an unnecessary war for no benefit.
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Result for CiviliansMany people tried to flee South Vietnam in the hopes that they could escape the strict rule of North Vietnam. However, after the Americans left, many South Vietnamese people were massacred or put in reeducation camps where they were treated poorly and forced into years of labor.
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Destruction of the CountrySince the majority of fighting took place in South Vietnam, the country was destroyed. The infrastructure was destroyed, thousands of civilians were killed, and its farmlands were polluted by America's toxic chemical warfare. Due to extreme damage, Vietnam remains one of the poorest countries in the world today.
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