History Of Vietnam Essays - Vietnam War, Ho Chi Minh, South Vietnam

History of Vietnam History of Vietnam Most humans will always have a tendency to protect his own. When the more fortunate notice a victim in any situation, they'll help out those they deem worthy of support, be it morally, financially, or physically. As long as there is free blood flowing in America's veins, she will always step in to keep tyranny on a downfall. The whole Vietnam war is a prime example of human nature not only at it's best, but sadly, also at it's worst. Oppression is perhaps the worst crime that man will ever inflict upon himself. Despite a tyrant's will, the fighting spirit of his followers never dies out. Oppression has the power to turn an average commoner into a force to be reckoned with. If you take a man's freedom from him he has nothing to lose, making him extremely dangerous. Since 248 A.D., this oppression plagued China by the French and mainly the Chinese. Trieu Au, a nationalistic leader and hero of Vietnam, led a revolt against China. After being severely defeated, this hero committed suicide. Another case of pride brought on by the Vietnamese was when the Trung sisters led a revolt against China and also committed suicide. In our society, then and now, suicide is considered insane, an unforgivable sin causing eternal damnation. The Vietnamese, however, see suicide as a less painful death than to be tortured by their oppressor. Most importantly, it shows how they value their country more so than their life. The Vietnamese also hold close to their hearts the belief of an afterlife. They only value their pride in their country while being mortal. To do this means a pleasant afterlife so they would undoubtingly fight to the end to have a heavenly reward. Americans take for granted their rights of being the home of the free. That is the major factor that led to our defeat in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh, also known to the Vietnamese as Uncle Ho, became president of Vietnam in 1954. He studied Marxism and Communism after traveling for thirty years, living in France, The United States, and The Soviet Union. He became highly interested in a Democratic government and even attempted to establish this in Vietnam. His pleas went unheard after he sent a letter to Woodrow Wilson at the Treaty of Versailles asking for Democratic freedoms and a constitution. French Socialists, however, heard his pleas and convinced him to turn communistic. He then dreamed of one day springing a communistic revolution and has him, one day, standing on top of the world. It is my conviction that Vietnam would have stayed Democratic and the civil war would never have broken out if Woodrow Wilson would have paid more attention to other foreign affairs instead of keeping his head burrowed into a hole after World War II. The first President that really got involved in Vietnam was Dwight Eisenhower. He sent U.S. money to aid the French at the battle of Dien Bien Phu because he believed that if Vietnam was to fall to Communism, then under "The Domino Effect", other countries would also fall, thus creating a Communist Asia. By sending money, Eisenhower wanted to hopefully stop the spread of communism without causing the loss of human casualties. It is said that we could have stopped the war before it started if Eisenhower had sent troops along with the French so that they may not have been defeated (www.swcp.com). But instead, the French took a heavy loss on May 7, 1954, which marked the beginning of military assistance by the United States. The loss in Dien Bien Phu, April 26, 1954 marked the beginning of the Geneva Conference. This conference would last nearly 2 months to try and stabilize the conflict in Indochina. Delegates from France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, Communist China, and representatives of Ho Chi Minh came to terms on a settlement to try and keep peace called the Accords. They go as follows: (1) A provisional military demarcation line was to be established at the 17th parallel, but this demarcation line was not to be constructed as creating a permanent boundary. (2) The Vietminh (supporters of Ho Chi Minh) were to regroup their forces north of the 17th parallel, while the French regrouped to the south of that line. Regrouping was to be completed within 300 days from the signing of the Accords. (3) Both sides were to pledge not to due any harm against civilians residing in their homes inside their own zones, and citizens had the right to cross the 17th