Vietnamese Nationalism

            
             The Vietnamese had to take the rights steps toward independence. The people of Vietnam utilized the right tactics at the right times. The Vietnamese suffered much torture and confusion brought about from alienating countries (France, Japan, and the United States). These countries made a civilian war into something so much more chaotic. The Vietnamese resisted the French because they wanted to be free to make their own decision without the interference of an outside entity. The only reason why the resisting occurred was because the slavery and brutality the French were inflicting on the Vietnamese was intolerable. .
             Vietnamese nationalism was an important factor in determining the Vietnamese people's motives for defending their country against the French and later the United States. Since the United States did not understand the nature of Vietnamese nationalism, the United States helped the South Vietnamese. The South Vietnamese at first didn't follow Ho Chi Minh's belief of communism.
             When Ho Chi Minh started to gain power in the south, the country of Vietnam united. The United States focused on the apparent threat of Communism. The Americans fought a war without realizing the strength of the united Vietnameses" determination to succeed. Ho Chi Minh had all ready established guerrilla groups and underground organizations in some parts of northern Vietnam since the early 1940's. After the Japanese eliminated the French administration in March 1945, the Viet Minh were able to operate more freely, and it expanded very rapidly. By the time Japan surrendered to the US in August, the Viet Minh had strong organizations in much of Tonkin and Annam, and significant support in Cochinchina. In the weeks following the Japanese surrender, the Viet Minh seized or were given local authority in most of Vietnam, and declared the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. .
             The United States overlooked the Vietnamese one because the Vietnamese had the aid of China, two the people of Vietnam were smaller and weaker economically as well as militarily.