APUSH+Ho+Chi+Minh

[|Ho Chi Minh] was a Vietnamese revolutionary. His parents were scholars struggling with poverty in central Vietnam. After a visit to France in his early years (1911), Ho became a Socialist, inspired by Marxist ideals. There, he joined the French Communist Party, acting as one of its founding members. After training in Russia, Ho then went to China, where he arranged a revolution among Vietnamese exiles. Ho was briefly forced out of the country, but later returned to found the Indochinese Communist Party. Ho was arrested in 1931, although he gained his freedom back a few years later, in 1933. Ho then went to Soviet Union for several years, only to return to China in in 1938, to advise the military branch of the national Communist party. Ho formed a new Communist movement, called the Vietminh, in 1941 after the Japanese occupation of Vietnam. After the Japanese surrender, the Vietminh gained control of Vietnam. Ho was now president of the country, which was still owned by the French, which refused to liberate the country. Fighting between the nations broke out in 1946. The French were buffered on all sides by Ho's persistent and unusual method of guerrilla fighting. The Vietminh party beat the French at the decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. After negotiations, the country was split, with the Communist party gaining North Vietnam. He led the Vietminh movement against the Americans during the Vietnam War, known popularly as the Viet Cong. This time, however, Ho was less involved in the field and more engaged in tactic negotiation. Ho died several years later in 1969. His legacy lives on, however. The city of Saigon is now known as Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho helped lead a popular and powerful party in Vietnam. He brought Communism to the country and used strategic military tactics to retain Communist power in his native state. Ho also helped inspire an opposition movement against the Americans, who were eventually involved in a tumultuous war with the Communist nation. The Americans were unable to bring capitalism to the country, which can be attributed to the brazen tactics of the guerrilla fighters and grassroots opposition to the United States, although many other factors were involved. Ho is still well-known and appreciated today in Vietnam.