Ho Chi Minh's Speech Before The Vietnam War

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September 2, 1945 is an important date in that it saw the end of World War II and the declaration of Vietnam independence. Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Communist party in Vietnam, stood in front of tens of thousands of citizens in Ba Dinh Square and delivered a speech that declared the independence of Vietnam. This declaration followed after Vietnam’s August Revolution that saw them take control of Vietnam, and within a couple of weeks, Ho Chi Minh delivered this speech to the masses. The content of speech is significant as it served the purposes of awakening this revolutionary spirit inside individuals to defend their right to be an independent country. Ho Chi Minh opened his speech by having cited the important statements from the Declaration …show more content…

There was still the possibility that France would try and reclaim Vietnam. However, Ho Chi Minh, on behalf of the Vietnamese people, cut relations with France, their obligation to France, and any of their special rights (Sheppard, 52). Therefore, Ho Chi Minh had denounced the French and their atrocities to build up the people to lead into his powerful statement, “ The whole Vietnamese people, animated by a common purpose, are determined to fight to the bitter end against any attempt by the French colonialists to reconquer their country” (Sheppard, 52). Ho Chi Minh ended his speech having detailed that the Vietnamese people had fought with the allies and, therefore, that they own the right to be free and independent (Sheppard, …show more content…

Rather, this was delivered to masses in Ba Dinh Square, within the capital of Hanoi. As the preface to this document stated, Hanoi was the colonial capital, and therefore, did not just reach the audience that witnessed the speech, but also to populations much farther away (50). At the end of the speech he said, “For these reasons, we, members of the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, solemnly declare to the world that Vietnam has the right to be a free and independent country” (52). The significance of this quote is that Ho Chi Minh stated that his declared to the world, and not just Vietnam. As mentioned in the preface, it reached out to others past the borders of Hanoi, and possibly Vietnam. It is possible then that the audience this was reaching was to other colonizers, as well as being able to reach likeminded individuals in other colonies and serve as inspiration to those that have suffered. Essentially, it could be said that if Vietnam has the right to be free and independent, then other colonies as well have the right to be free and independent. Furthermore, its importance to decolonization is that it demonstrated how the colonized stood up against the colonizer, and that the colonizer may not be as powerful as they might think. In addition, Ho Chi Minh denounced France and declared

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