The Declaration of Independence: Ho Chi Minh's and The United States

President Ho Chi Minh's Declaration of Independence marked a turning point in Vietnam's history, bringing independence to the nation and freedom to the people. Historians somewhat incorrectly note that Ho Chi Minh opened Viet Nam's "Declaration of Independence" by quoting the U.S. "Declaration." Ho delivered his reading of the Vietnamese document more than thirty years after he had lived in New York and Boston. A brilliant man, Ho may have committed the American quote …

…to a close. As the League for the Independence of Vietnam, known as the Viet Minh, Vietnamese nationalists had fought against the Japanese invaders as well as the defeated French colonial authorities. With the support of rich and poor peasants, workers, businessmen, landlords, students, and intellectuals, the Viet Minh (led by Ho Chi Minh) had expanded throughout northern Vietnam where it established new local governments, redistributed some lands, and opened granaries to alleviate the famine.