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
would support the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in its campaign for independence. Later on the document, Minh listed the atrocities committed by the French against the Vietnamese similar to how the U.S. Declaration contained the crimes done by King George III against the colonies (Minh, 247-248). The Vietnamese people lost “our rice fields, our mines, our forests, and our raw materials”. Adding onto that, they’ve lost control of the bank and export trade, undergo unjustifiable taxes, experience extreme poverty, and so forth. Here, he hoped to gain the support of similar countries, most notably the U.S. Overall, Ho Chi Minh believed that the U.S government would offer their support to the Vietnamese people seeking independence considering its own history. Also, he emphasizes that the Vietnamese people will continue pursuing their freedom with or without the support of others against their large adversary.
Chris Appy’s s American Reckoning is a book-length essay on the Vietnam War and how it changed the way Americans think of ourselves and our foreign policy. This is required reading for anyone interested in foreign policy and America’s place in the world, showing how events influence attitudes, which turn to influence events.
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 ...
Martin Luther king states 7 arguments to show his opposition to the Americans aiding the Vietnam at war. One of the reason he is against the war is that, he is against violence and America is promoting violence by fighting against the Liberation Front. It states as he walk among the ghettos of the North, and saw these “desperate, rejected and angry young men” using the “Molotov cocktails,” using violence he told them that violence is not the solution to their problems, rather they should approach a nonviolent solution. They asked him, then “what about Vietnam?” (King, 152) this question provoked him to speak against the war. In conclusion, in order for the violence to stop, in America, the government have to take the first step, so that the
Also, during the revolution the Americans fought to free their country from the oppression of Britain, while in the Vietnam War they used their super power position to try and stop the communist ideology from growing. During the revolution, the American’s emerged as the victors in their fight against Britain. Unfortunately victory in the war against South Vietnam did not occur. The American Revolution war lasted eight years, while, the war against the communists in South Vietnam lasted as long as twenty years (Daly & Robert,
Though out history, American has had its hand in conflict with other countries. Some of those conflicts have turned out into wars. Looking back at America’s “track record” with war, America has a worthy past of having its citizen’s support. Obviously the two World Wars we not controversial. The United States in the Korean War was criticized, fairly, for its strategy, but the need to defend South Korea was never questioned. In only the Vietnam War was the United States’ very participation criticized. This is such a gigantic change with prior wars that it bears study as to why it happened, and better yet, should have it happened. This paper will discuss the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, by asking the simple question, Should have the Untied States’ gotten involved into the first place. This paper will prove that in fact, America should have not gotten involved with the Vietnam War.
What were Eugene McCarthy’s motives for going against the Vietnam War? From the early 1960s up until the year 1973, America was going through the Anti-War Movement. The movement had many leaders, supporters, and followers, including Martin Luther King Jr., Eugene McCarthy, and Robert F. Kennedy. The Anti-War Movement took place in order to demand the government put an end to U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia and to stop the escalation of the Vietnam War. On December 2 of 1967, Eugene McCarthy gave his “Denouncing the Vietnam War” speech in the state of Chicago, in front of the Democratic Party. He speaks out against the war in order to point out what an immoral and pointless battle that the United States were fighting. In Eugene McCarthy’s “Denouncing the Vietnam War” speech, he inspires his intended audience during the Antiwar Movement by using the rhetorical devices of logos and personification.
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...
Robert S. McNamara's book, In Retrospect, tells the story of one man's journey throughout the trials and tribulations of what seems to be the United States utmost fatality; the Vietnam War. McNamara's personal encounters gives an inside perspective never before heard of, and exposes the truth behind the administration.
Eventually, the store had to close down. The Anticommunist movement is extreme to the point that anyone who even appeared to be sympathetic to the current government of Vietnam was branded a traitor. For instance, the community claimed that one of the Vietnamese American politicians, Tony Lam, did not support the community in forcing this video store to close down. In addition, Tony Lam took part in requesting the council of the city of Westminster to change the name Little Saigon into Asian town (Collet, & Furuya, 2010). His rationale was that “Little Saigon” negatively reminded of the pain in Vietnamese history, which needed to be forgotten. His political career soon ended, since his attitude and belief was viewed as an offense toward Vietnamese immigrants. Vietnamese immigrants believe that the term Saigon is sacred and beloved, therefore replacing the name Little Saigon is equivalent to neglecting the dramatic historical background and disconnecting their origin. In away, Anticommunist movement creates cohesion among Vietnamese immigrant.
In order to give a just analysis, to give an examination of the Vietnam Counter-Culture, one would have to look to the preliminary causes, the debates and diplomacy of the youth themselves, and the reflection where this has influenced today’s youth. I am proud to say that as an American I am proud of the simple origins of the peace and love philosophy. Coupled with the causes of freedom, comes a cause for peace and love. Simply put, why can’t we be friends? Why can’t we love our neighbors in the world? Why not peace and love?
Tragic events occur not only in the United States, but also all over the world. From these tragic events communities, families, and the government decide to place memorials for people that were lost and as a thank you for people protecting the citizens of the country. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The Wall, in Washington D.C. is one of these cases. However, what exactly was the purpose of this memorial? The purpose of putting up the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was not only to thank the veterans for their bravery, but to remind future generations about happened during the Vietnam War. Also, the memorial is important to help people and the veterans to accept the fact that the war actually
So many things influenced our involvement in the Vietnam War, and Lawrence examines the decisions we made in a greater context than just our own. He argues that international pressures controlled the attitudes and ideas of the United States, for the most part.
The speech that I chose to analyze and critique is from John Forbes Kerry “Vietnam Veterans Against the War” to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In this speech he did not represent himself, he represented the group of 1000 veterans that feels the same way he does about the war.
About Ho Chi Minh Birth Name: Nguyen Tat Thanh. Birth Place: Central Vietnam. Born: 1890 -. Death: 1969 -. Ho Chi Minh is known for his leading role in the Vietnam War.
Vietnam was a struggle which, in all honesty, the United States should never have been involved in. North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so that they would be a unified communist nation. To prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem.