Analysis: Message from Ho Chi Minh
The "Message from Ho Chi Minh," delivered on December 23, 1966, represents an appeal from the President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the American public during the Vietnam War. In a context marked by escalating U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, with hundreds of thousands of American troops deployed and extensive bombing campaigns underway, Ho's message sought to clarify the nature of the conflict and the implications of U.S. actions. He condemned the brutal tactics employed by the U.S. military, such as the use of napalm and toxic chemicals, which he argued were causing immense suffering among the Vietnamese people. Notably, Ho did not hold the American populace responsible for the war's devastation; instead, he placed the blame squarely on President Lyndon Johnson's administration. He aimed to foster a sense of solidarity with American citizens, encouraging them to question their government's policies and to recognize the shared humanity affected by the war. Ho's communication was also a strategic effort to sway public opinion in the U.S. against the war, highlighting the potential dangers for American soldiers and the futility of the conflict. Overall, this message illustrates the complex dynamics of a war that deeply impacted both nations and reflects Ho Chi Minh's hope for a peaceful resolution and a future relationship between the United States and Vietnam.
Analysis: Message from Ho Chi Minh
Date: December 23, 1966
Author: Ho Chi Minh
Genre: address; letter
Summary Overview
On December 23, 1966, Ho Chi Minh, the president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV, or North Vietnam), sent a short message to the American people to provide his interpretation of the ongoing conflict between his nation and its ally, the National Liberation Front (NLF), on the one hand, and the United States and its ally, the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), on the other. By the end of 1966, hundreds of thousands of American soldiers were stationed in South Vietnam. As well, Rolling Thunder, the American bombing campaign, had been attacking targets in the North and the South for almost two years.
Ho's message emphasized the cruel nature of the American war effort. He condemned the American use of napalm, toxic gas, and fragmentation bombs, all of which resulted in the destruction of many towns and the deaths of thousands of people. He made it clear, however, that he did not blame the American people for the devastation. In fact, he even noted that American soldiers were also victims of American foreign policy. He held President Lyndon Johnson as solely responsible for the continuation of the war. By differentiating between the American people and their government, Ho sought to divide Americans and encourage them to resist their president's aggressive policies.
Defining the Moment
At first glance, Ho Chi Minh's message to the American people seems odd, given that his nation was at war with the United States. However, Ho had some familiarity with the United States and had previously appealed to America for support. He had actually lived in Harlem in 1912–1913. As the Allied powers negotiated an end to World War I at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Ho hoped to meet President Woodrow Wilson and secure his support for national self-determination for Vietnam. He not only failed to secure a meeting, but was dismayed to learn that Wilson would not support Vietnamese independence.
Similarly, when Japan surrendered in August 1945 and World War II ended, Ho announced Vietnam's independence from French colonial rule in front of thousands of cheering supporters on September 2, 1945. In a blatant appeal for American support, Ho repeatedly referred to the American Declaration of Independence in hopes that the United States would endorse Vietnamese independence and prevent the return of the French. The United States, however, chose to support French political control of Vietnam. Ho's appeal in 1967 to the American people was not a novel tactic.
The appeal in 1967 was different because North Vietnam and the United States were engaged in an ongoing war. Beginning in 1954, when the French lost control of their colonies in Southeast Asia, the United States supported several anticommunist regimes in South Vietnam with substantial aid. Between 1965 and 1966, the American role in the conflict escalated significantly. By the end of 1966, there were 385,000 American soldiers in the South. Additionally, as Ho noted, Rolling Thunder, the American bombing campaign, had bombed enemy targets in the North and the South for nearly two years, including 79,000 sorties in 1966 alone.
Ho was trying to communicate to the American people that the US government was responsible for the escalation of the conflict, not North Vietnam. He emphasized the devastating effect which the war, especially Rolling Thunder, was having on all Vietnamese. As well, because of the American government's escalation, hundreds of thousands of American soldiers had been sent to Vietnam and might be killed. In a final attack on the Johnson administration, Ho charged it had shown no interest in peace negotiations.
Author Biography
Born Nguyen Sinh Cung in 1890 in the province of Nghe An in what was then French Indochina, Ho left Vietnam in 1911 seeking adventure aboard a French merchant steamboat. He ended up in France and joined the French Socialist Party at the beginning of World War I. In 1919, at the Paris Peace Conference, he failed to secure Woodrow Wilson's support for Vietnamese self-determination. Embittered by the rejection, Ho helped form the French Communist Party in 1920. During the 1920s and 1930s, Ho traveled back and forth between the Soviet Union, China, Thailand, and Vietnam.
When Japan occupied Vietnam in 1941, Ho secretly reentered Vietnam and formed the Viet Minh to resist Japanese control. When Japan surrendered, Ho, as the leader of the Viet Minh, announced Vietnam's independence to a throng of cheering supporters on September 2, 1945. However, with American support, France regained control of French Indochina. In 1946, the First Indochina War broke out, pitting the Viet Minh against France. In 1954, after the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, France lost its colonies. The Geneva Accords established two separate states, with the northern state, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, controlled by Ho Chi Minh. He would remain president of the DRV until his death in 1969.
Document Analysis
Ho Chi Minh's message was an obvious attempt to influence American public opinion. He made it clear to his American readers that he bore no ill will for Americans and did not hold them responsible for the war. Instead, he placed blame solely on President Lyndon Johnson's administration, whose actions were neither in the best interest of the American people, nor the Vietnamese. Were it not for the actions of the American government, Vietnam and the United States would almost certainly have enjoyed a friendly and mutually beneficial relationship.
Ho denounced American military strategy during the war. He strongly condemned the use of “napalm bombs, toxic gas, fragmentation bombs and other modern weapons” which “massacre our people, not sparing even old persons, women and children, it has burnt down or destroyed villages and towns and perpetrated extremely savage crimes.” This was intended to make Americans feel guilty about the harm their government had caused.
In a pointed appeal to the American people, he pointed out the potentially deadly effect that the war might have on young American men. Many of the young men sent to Vietnam would die a “useless death” causing considerable grief for their families.
He also addressed the claims of the Johnson administration that peace negotiations were forthcoming. The Johnson administration was not serious about negotiations and, in fact, was planning to escalate the war under the false premise that more troops and resources would force the DRV to surrender. Ho assured the American people that his government would never abandon its fight whatever the cost. If American officials claimed otherwise, they were lying
To show that his assessment was not bizarre, Ho noted that many Americans had already begun “demanding that the American government respect the Constitution and the honour of the United States, stop the war of aggression in Vietnam and bring home all U.S. troops.” He encouraged other Americans to join the movement to end the war in Vietnam.
Bibliography and Additional Reading
Brocheux, Pierre. Ho Chi Minh: A Biography. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print.
Duiker, William J. Ho Chi Minh: A Life. New York: Hachette Books, 2000. Print.
Halberstam, David. Ho. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007. Print.
Karnow, Stanley. Vietnam: A History. New York: Penguin Books, 1991. Print