Author Bio: Ho Chi Minh was the founder of the French Communist Party in 1921, and the Vietnamese Communist Party in 1930. He was split between the ideas of communism and the ideas of democracy. Ho Chi Minh was also the leader of the Vietminh, which was the Vietnamese nationalist movement. He is a man that vouched for the independence of his country, and therefore wrote the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence.
Date/context: This document predates the Cold War, and was written right after the end of World War 2. The Vietnamese people have been colonized and mistreated for almost a century, and finally have the opportunity for freedom. With this opportunity, Ho Chi Minh has come to promote the reach for independence, and in doing so has written this document to be the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence.
Summary: Ho Chi Minh's speech starts out by saying that it is stated in the American and French constitutions that all men are born to rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While this is stated in the constitution, the french have become hypocrites. They have been imperialistic, and have had Vietnam colonized for the past 80 years. They have enforced inhumane laws, and have caused the Vietnamese people to suffer. In 1940, the French gave Vietnam over to the Japanese, where the Vietnamese peoples' suffering doubled. Two million people died from starvation in one year. When the French were fully driven off by Japan, they massacred political prisoners in Yen Bai and Cao Bang. Once Japan was defeated by the Allies, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was founded. This party has showed determination and courage, and therefore they are declaring themselves a free country of Vietnam.
Key Quotation: "Our people have broken the chains which for nearly a century have fettered them and have won independence for the Fatherland."
Defining characteristics: “The Vietnamese Declaration of Independence” discusses how Vietnam was mistreated by the French and the Japanese. There are three main points that this articles focuses on, and they all deal with the inhumane actions made against the Vietnamese, and, eventually, the creation of a Vietnamese Declaration. First off, a major point to this article would be that the French have a universal law which states that “All men are born free and with equal rights.” This leaves the Vietnamese confused because they are not being treated equally and, infact, being treated very poorly. This leads to the second point that this article talks about, mistreatment. The French proved that they didn’t care about the Vietnamese by taking away the Vietnamese’s crop fields, creating more prisons, creating injustice taxes, and even killing Vietnamese patriots. The conditions that the Vietnamese faced were unbelievable and inhumane, so they decided to do something about it. After the French handed the Vietnamese to Japan, some issues started to form and conflicts began. Overtime, the Vietnamese gained enough power to constitute their own declaration. It was finally official, the Vietnamese would now be able to use their strength to maintain their “independence and liberty.”
ReplyDeleteFeedback: Steven did a wonderful job capturing the main points of the article, while also explaining the important details of how the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence came to be. First off, Steven first mentioned that the french were hypocrites in the sense that they say that every man is equal, but then turn around and do not give the Vietnamese the time of day. That aspect is very important to know because it helps the Vietnamese realize that they deserve freedom too. Also, Steven did a great paragraph on Ho Chi Minh and explained his vital role in the Vietnamese independence, which was writing the declaration. Finally, the key quotation that Steven chose perfectly summarizes the article because it emphasizes how long the Vietnamese were mistreated and also states that Vietnam finally reached their independence.