Ho Chi Mihn was the first Prime Minister and, later, the first President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, founded as a constitutional republic in 1945. Able to speak fluently as well as read and write professionally in French, English, Russian, Cantonese and Mandarin as well as his mother tongue, Ho studied the US Declaration of Independence and based the constitution of his tiny new nation, seeking independence from a colonial occupier and recognition of its sovereignty on that document. Hell, he quoted the American Declaration of Independence in declaring his own Proclamation of Independence (read the opening), 80 years ago on this date, August 2, 1945. Why? Because the United States once set a standard by which most of the world desired to live ... a belief that there are certain natural rights that we all possess from birth.
The Vietnamese were claiming those rights for themselves, and they were claiming the promise of America.
In this 1946 telegram to US President Truman, he pleaded for American support for his new nation. We know how that turned out.
The Vietnamese were claiming those rights for themselves, and they were claiming the promise of America.
In this 1946 telegram to US President Truman, he pleaded for American support for his new nation. We know how that turned out.
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