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French colonialsim vietnam
Vietnamese nationalism
Vietnamese nationalism essay
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As the sun set on the nineteenth century and the dawn of the twentieth century rose, the small, resource-rich country of Vietnam grew increasingly tired of French imperial rule in its homeland. For decades French colonialism had exploited the Vietnamese countryside to build up and provide for her own nation. “[These] colonizers declared that they were serving the Indochinese peoples by bringing material advancement and moral uplift - by performing, in short, a ‘civilizing mission.’” (Lawrence 11). However, only a small percent of Vietnamese elites actually benefited from these reforms. The rural Vietnamese peasantry, which accounted for the bulk of the nation’s total population, endured increasingly greater hardships, such as food shortages …show more content…
The same is true for what took place in Vietnam in the early 1900’s. A strong nationalist movement, hungry for independence and freedom from oppression, began voicing their concerns. “Vietnamese intellectuals began to explore the sources of their country’s vulnerability and to consider ways to revitalize and liberate their country” (Hunt 1). Additionally, “their nationalism incorporated a special faith in the capacity of Vietnamese to resist foreign domination” (Hunt 2, italics mine). In other words, the Vietnamese not only envisioned the possibility of independence, but began planning a way of bringing it to pass. Phan Boi Chau penned the following in his work, The New Vietnam, “Our soil is fertile, our mountains and rivers beautiful. Compared with other powers in the five continents, our country is inferior only to a few. Why, then, do we suffer French protection? Alas, that is simply because of our deep-rooted slave mentality; it is because of our inveterate habit of depending on others for over two thousand years” (Hunt 5). This zealous man continued in his argument, “our enemy the French are very ingenious. They despise us, claiming that we are weak; they lie to us, because they consider us stupid…. They trample over our people; they hold our fathers and brothers in contempt; they treat us like buffaloes and horses; they suck the sweat and blood from our people; …show more content…
Ho Chi Minh was willing to counter French colonialism in a very aggressive, militaristic manner. A nationalist, a Leninist, and a Marxist, Ho despised capitalism and adopted socialist and communist ideas. He despised French imperialism and seethed with revolution. A true leader, Ho Chi Minh knew how to rally his people behind him and the national cause. He cried to his nation in 1941, “If our entire people are solidly united we can certainly get the better of the best-trained armies of the French and the Japanese… National salvation is the common cause of our entire people. Every Vietnamese must take part in it. He who has money will contribute his money, he who has strength will contribute his strength, he who has talent will contribute talent. For my part I pledge to follow in your steps and devote all my modest abilities to the service of the country and am ready for the supreme sacrifice” (Hunt 12). Ho led with skill and competence; he “showed a remarkable ideological flexibility and tactical genius that enabled him to succeed where earlier nationalists had failed” (Lawrence 17). He had a knack to “seamlessly [blend] communist notions of social revolution with nationalist themes likely to resonate with a broad range of Vietnamese motivated
When Vietnamese revolutionary Ho Chi Minh and his political organization, the Vietminh, seized control of their independence from France United States Politicians saw it as another communist take over. When really Ho was more a nationalist than a communist. All Minh wanted was for the United States to recognize its independence from France and to send aid to help it reach its nationalistic goals. "Before the Cold War Ho and the Vietmin...
As the international shift towards nationalism and self-determination gained momentum in the years after World War II as a result to imperialism’s dangerous influence on the world during the war, decolonization becomes the inevitable truth for nations on both sides of the colonial relationship between an occupying country and a subjugated
Lawrence’s purpose in writing this book was concise and to the point. In recent history, due to the fall of the Soviet bloc, new information has been made available for use in Vietnam. As stated in the introduction, “This book aims to take account of this new scholarship in a brief, accessible narrative of the Vietnam War… It places the war within the long flow of Vietnamese history and then captures the goals and experiences of various governments that became deeply embroiled in the country during the second half of the twentieth century” (Lawrence, 3.) This study is not only about the American government and how they were involved in the Vietnam conflict, but highlights other such countries as France, China, and the Soviet Union. Lawrence goes on to say that one of his major goals in writing this book is to examine the American role in Vietnam within an international context (Lawrence, 4.) Again, this goes to show that the major purpose of Lawrence’s study included not only ...
After returning, Minh had help from the Vietminh; an organization of communist that wanted freedom from other countries. Their main goal was to turn Vietnam into a self-governed communist country. France wanted none of this non-sense. In 1945 they had moved back into southern Vietnam and ruled most of the cities. Ho Chi Minh swore to fight France to gain control of the whole country. U.S. promised to aid France, and sent almost $15 million worth of financial aid to France. The French fought for four years, being financially aided by the U.S. the whole time. The U.S. spent nearly one billion dollars in order to help France regain control of the tiny country. The only reason that much effort was put into a small area was the fear of the y. Domino Theory. The Domino Theory first showed it's head during a 1954 news conference by U.S. President Eisenhower. The domino theory is the fear of the spread of communism from one country to the next, and so on. Even with the assistance of the U.S. France could not gain the control it once had on Vietnam.
In April of 1956 the last remaining French troops would leave Vietnam. After over 200 years of influence and rule, the French at last realized that the occupation and control of Vietnam was an unreachable goal. In consideration of the many blunders (both militarily and political) , and the outright ignorance of the French high command, any efforts to stabilize Vietnamese nationalism and to maintain french rule over Vietnam were thwarted. Thus the French were defeated by an inferior force, and the question of how such an anomaly could occur lies within the 200 years of rule, and the many mistakes made through out way.
“Vietnam: A Mistake of Western Alliance” is not the only piece of writing by Mark Atwood Lawrence about the Vietnam War. He has written two books on the topic: Assuming the Burden: Europe and the American Commitment to War in Vietnam and The Vietnam War: A Concise International History. He has also written other essays about the war and co-edited The First Vietnam War: Colonial Conflict and Cold War Crisis. He received degrees from Stanford and Yale and is a Professor of History at The University of Texas at Austin (Mark Atwood Lawrence).
When Germany defeated France in 1940, during World War II, Ho saw it as an opportunity for the Vietnamese nationalist cause. Around this time, he began to use the name Ho Chi Minh (roughly translated as “Bringer of Light”). With his lieutenants Vo Nguyen Giap and Pham Van Dong, Ho returned to Vietnam in January 1941 and organized the Viet Minh, or League for the Independence of Vietnam. Forced to seek China’s aid for the new or...
One efficient strategy that Ho Chi Minh used was his ways of gaining support and compromise. His strategies for gaining support reveal a more moderate position. One example of this was when Ho Chi Minh used quotes for the American Declaration of Independence. The people felt that this proved that Ho Chi Minh’s main drive was securing the “freedom of his people” (Hillstrom 6-7). Even if, some might say that Ho Chi Minh was only trying to gain the support of the United States, the people mostly saw it as a way to get a better compromise out of it. Ho Chi Minh used the quote from the famous American document, “Was it admiration for the ideals of the United States? Only a pragmatic [practical] gesture to enhance his bid for American support? The
Immediately following the struggle of World War Two another great conflict was heating up in Vietnam. Revolution was in the air and was being led by the communist leader Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh’s declaration of independence of Vietnam from French rule on September 2nd, 1945 was the first step in securing a Vietnam free from colonization and a Vietnam of complete independence. Ho Chi Minh’s education in communist teachings pulled him to align with the French Communists which helped thrust him into his future role as leader of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Without Ho Chi Minh’s experiences outside of Vietnam and his establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the North Vietnamese may never have won the war in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was crucial to North Vietnam’s success in the Vietnam War due to his establishment of the communist party in Vietnam, his role in building a strong North Vietnam, and his status as a symbol of revolutionary action.
Vietnam has had a long history of being under rule of foreign powers. My belief is that after the Second World War, the Soviet Union with its major part that was played in the war rose as a superpower with strong impacts over Eastern Europe, including parts of Asia. Furthermore, the United States and its Western partners saw communism as the paragon of the USSR which was considered the highest rival opponent and post-war risk to their majority rules system and private enterprise in their beliefs of democracy. During 1887 to 1954, Vietnam was seen as a French Colony. With the French’s coercion and power, they introduced and forced their cultures and religions onto the Vietnamese so they could gain the cooperation to exploit Vietnam for a multitude of resources. A communist faction originating in Vietnam called the Viet Minh began a national movement to force the French out of Vietnam. With the United States fearful of the spread of communism that was derived from what I believe was the Cold War, they wholeheartedly supported the French by spending millions in order
Ho Chi Minh, a communist revolutionary, chose to model his version of the Declaration of Independence to that of the U.S.’s. The founder of the Vietnamese movement for independence believed that the U.S. Declaration of Independence accurately represents the Vietnamese people and their struggles for political and economic autonomy. In this way, he hoped to gain support from the U.S.’s understanding of freedom and make a clear statement towards their abusers. In the beginning of Ho Chi Minh’s Declaration of Independence, he noted the similarities between the U.S. and Vietnam (Minh, 247). Both were restricted in terms of freedom by a greater power, they have experienced numerous abuses by those powers, and so forth. Minh hoped that the U.S. government
Herring begins his account with a summary of the First Indochina War. He reports that the Vietnamese resisted French imperialism as persistently as they had Chinese. French colonial policies had transformed the Vietnamese economic and social systems, giving rise to an urban middle class, however; the exploitation of the country and its people stimulated more radical revolutionary activity. Herring states that the revolution of 1945 was almost entirely the personal creation of the charismatic leader Ho Chi Minh. Minh is described as a frail and gentle man who radiated warmth and serenity, however; beneath this mild exterior existed a determined revolutionary who was willing to employ the most cold- blooded methods in the cause to which he dedicated his life. With the guidance of Minh, the Vietminh launched as a response to the favorable circumstances of World War II. By the spring of 1945, Minh mobilized a base of great support. When Japan surrendered in 1945, the Vietminh filled the vacuum. France and the Vietminh attempted to negotiate an agreement, but their goals were irreconcilable.
After being take control of in the mid 1800’s , the Indochina social system faced consequences. Human rights were taken away, as the natives were almost put as slaves, while working for the French. The workers were treated
Oppression is perhaps the worst crime that man will ever inflict upon himself. Despite a tyrant's will, the fighting spirit of the oppressed never dies out. Oppression has the power to turn an average commoner into a force to be reckoned with. If you take a man's freedom from him he has nothing to lose, making him extremely dangerous. Since 248 A.D., this oppression plagued South East Asia by the French, the Chinese and others. At the end of World War II in August of 1945, the French were trying to re-establish control over their Indochinese colonies. This weak moment would be seized by Vietnam to free themselves from French rule and declare their independence.
There are many ethnicities and nationalities that have developed a keen sense of cultural obligations that are inherited from the history of their own countries. From a time period of over a few thousand years ago, our foreign predecessors have developed characteristics that are hereby passed down for future generations to enjoy. Particularly speaking, Vietnam has affected a majority of the world in ways that are both positive and negative. Based on this knowledge, a person can infer that Vietnam has influenced the modern world greatly due to its prominent culture, religion, government, and scientific discoveries.