Vietnam War Notes

Ho Chi Minh's Declaration of Independence (1945)

• Ho Chi Minh delivered the Declaration of Independence of Vietnam in Hanoi on September 2, 1945.
• The declaration references the U.S. Declaration of Independence, stating, "All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
• Ho Chi Minh broadens this to mean that all people on earth are born equal and have the right to live, be happy, and be free.
• Accusations against French Imperialists:
  • For over eighty years, the French abused the ideals of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, violating Vietnam and oppressing its citizens.
  • Political oppression: The French deprived the Vietnamese people of every democratic liberty.
  • Built more prisons than schools.
  • Mercilessly killed patriots and suppressed uprisings with bloodshed.
  • Economic exploitation: The French impoverished the people and devastated the land.
  • Robbed Vietnam of rice fields, mines, forests, and raw materials.
  • Monopolized the issuing of banknotes and export trade.
  • Invented unjustifiable taxes, reducing people (especially peasants) to extreme poverty.
  • Hampered the prospering of the national bourgeoisie and mercilessly exploited workers.
  • Enforced inhuman laws and divided Vietnam into three distinct political regimes (North, Center, and South) to undermine national unity.

Dulles' Speech (1954)

• Context: As the French faced defeat in Indochina, U.S. government officials, including Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and Vice-President Richard Nixon, advocated for the U.S. to replace France.
• Dulles argued that U.S. intervention might be necessary to save the "free world" from the spread of Communism.
• Vice-President Nixon stated that the "Vietnamese lack the ability to conduct a war by themselves or govern themselves."
• Dulles' Argument:
  • The imposition of the political system of Communist Russia and its Chinese Communist ally on Southeast Asia would be a grave threat to the entire free community.
  • The United States should not passively accept this possibility but should meet it with united action.
  • He acknowledged that this might involve serious risks but argued that these risks were less than those faced if the U.S. remained irresolute.

Eisenhower Interview (1954)

• Robert Richards of Copley Press questioned President Eisenhower about the strategic importance of Indochina to the free world.
• Eisenhower's response:
  • Specific value: Indochina's production of materials that the world needs.
  • Humanitarian concern: The possibility of many people living under a dictatorship inimical to the free world.
  • Broader considerations: The "falling domino" principle.
    • If one domino (country) falls to communism, the surrounding countries will also fall.
    • This could lead to a disintegration with profound influences.

Diem's Letter to Kennedy (1961)

• Context: The 1954 Geneva Accords divided Vietnam, with reunification depending on a presidential election in 1956. The United States and South Vietnam's leader, Ngo Dinh Diem, refused to hold elections due to Ho Chi Minh's expected popularity.
• Diem's letter to President John F. Kennedy:
  • Thanks the United States for its close friendship and cooperation with the Republic of Vietnam.
  • Emphasizes the long history of the Vietnamese people in their land, marked by struggles against foreign powers to defend their independence.
  • Argues that not only freedom but also national identity is at stake:
    • If they lose the war, the Vietnamese people will be "swallowed by the Communist bloc."
    • Their heritage will be blotted out by the "socialist society."
    • Vietnam will disappear from history, losing its national soul.