Ho Chi Minh- Vietnamese Revolutionary
Ho Chi Minh (born Nguyễn Sinh Cung) was born on May 19th, 1890 in his mother’s village of Kimlien in central Vietnam. At the time, Vietnam still existed as a colony of France, and within it nationalist sentiment was beginning to stir against the occupying forces. Many were in favor of independence, even if it meant revolution, and Ho’s father was one of these supporters. At the age of five Ho moved to live with his father, whose position in the French government could insure his son an education, and whose nationalist views influenced his opinions of colonialism and the occupying French regime.
Ho did well in his studies, learning to read and write in Chinese, French, and the colloquial Vietnamese dialect, and in 1911 he left Vietnam on a French steamship liner, hoping to continue his education abroad. It would not be until 12 years later that he would be formally educated, but in these years he traveled extensively in the United States, Great Britain and France, where he became familiar with the writings of Karl Marx. Intrigued by Communism, Ho joined the Socialist Party of France, and in 1919, bolstered by his contact with politics and reassured by US President Woodrow Wilson’s philosophy of self-determination, Ho attended the Peace Talks at Versailles, where he petitioned the assembly of nations to consider the injustice of France’s occupation of Vietnam and to support the establishment of a nationally supported government. Ho was largely ignored, even by President Wilson, but this attempt not only motivated him to form the French Communist Party, it made him a hero in the eyes of Vietnamese nationalists at home and brought him to the attention of Communist International, a prominent communist organization located in Moscow. They began communications with Ho, and in 1923 he left at their invitation to begin study at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East.
Ho would study and travel with Communist International (often abbreviated Comintern), attending the 5th National Communist Congress and traveling to such nations as Germany, Thailand, Italy and China on political and diplomatic missions. Ho began to travel more often to Asia in 1925, especially to China, where his thoughts were obviously still on furthering the cause of Vietnamese Independence. Despite his deep connection with communist thought and his affiliation with Comintern and other communist organizations, in all things Ho said that he was motivated “by patriotism, not communism”.
In 1941, after facing political exile and persecution in China, Ho finally returned to Vietnam to lead the Independence movement he had longed believed in. In the time that he was gone, Vietnam had changed rulers, but was still dominated by a foreign power. The Japanese, who formerly had been entrusted by the French to occupy Vietnam on their behalf, had forced the remaining French troops out of Vietnam, and declared it a territory of their own. To Ho, however, one foreign ruler was just the same as another, and he aimed to remove them. The Vietminh, named after the name Ho had given himself (roughly translated as “he who enlightens), were an association committed to Vietnamese independence and who had garnered a force of more than 10,000 armed guerrilla warriors to put at their command. This force, with close support from US forces, managed to stage a revolution in August, 1945 which forced the occupying Japanese military to surrender. Ho staged a political coup, convincing the Japanese puppet emperor, Bao Dai, to step down from office and allow him to oversee the nation’s first democratic election.
Ho Chi Minh became the Chairman of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2nd, 1945, when he read the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence, which drew strong parallels between the American Declaration and set up systems for a nation-wide democratic election. This battle had been won, but for Ho and Vietnam, the war was far from over.
Ho did well in his studies, learning to read and write in Chinese, French, and the colloquial Vietnamese dialect, and in 1911 he left Vietnam on a French steamship liner, hoping to continue his education abroad. It would not be until 12 years later that he would be formally educated, but in these years he traveled extensively in the United States, Great Britain and France, where he became familiar with the writings of Karl Marx. Intrigued by Communism, Ho joined the Socialist Party of France, and in 1919, bolstered by his contact with politics and reassured by US President Woodrow Wilson’s philosophy of self-determination, Ho attended the Peace Talks at Versailles, where he petitioned the assembly of nations to consider the injustice of France’s occupation of Vietnam and to support the establishment of a nationally supported government. Ho was largely ignored, even by President Wilson, but this attempt not only motivated him to form the French Communist Party, it made him a hero in the eyes of Vietnamese nationalists at home and brought him to the attention of Communist International, a prominent communist organization located in Moscow. They began communications with Ho, and in 1923 he left at their invitation to begin study at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East.
Ho would study and travel with Communist International (often abbreviated Comintern), attending the 5th National Communist Congress and traveling to such nations as Germany, Thailand, Italy and China on political and diplomatic missions. Ho began to travel more often to Asia in 1925, especially to China, where his thoughts were obviously still on furthering the cause of Vietnamese Independence. Despite his deep connection with communist thought and his affiliation with Comintern and other communist organizations, in all things Ho said that he was motivated “by patriotism, not communism”.
In 1941, after facing political exile and persecution in China, Ho finally returned to Vietnam to lead the Independence movement he had longed believed in. In the time that he was gone, Vietnam had changed rulers, but was still dominated by a foreign power. The Japanese, who formerly had been entrusted by the French to occupy Vietnam on their behalf, had forced the remaining French troops out of Vietnam, and declared it a territory of their own. To Ho, however, one foreign ruler was just the same as another, and he aimed to remove them. The Vietminh, named after the name Ho had given himself (roughly translated as “he who enlightens), were an association committed to Vietnamese independence and who had garnered a force of more than 10,000 armed guerrilla warriors to put at their command. This force, with close support from US forces, managed to stage a revolution in August, 1945 which forced the occupying Japanese military to surrender. Ho staged a political coup, convincing the Japanese puppet emperor, Bao Dai, to step down from office and allow him to oversee the nation’s first democratic election.
Ho Chi Minh became the Chairman of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2nd, 1945, when he read the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence, which drew strong parallels between the American Declaration and set up systems for a nation-wide democratic election. This battle had been won, but for Ho and Vietnam, the war was far from over.