Vietnamese Declaration of Independence facts for kids

The Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was a very important speech. Ho Chi Minh read it on September 2, 1945, in Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, Vietnam. This speech officially announced that Vietnam was now independent from France and the Japanese Empire. This happened right after World War II ended.

Ho Chi Minh wrote this speech during the August Revolution. He wrote it at a house on 48 Hang Ngang Street in Hanoi. A wealthy family who lived there gave a lot of gold to help the government led by Ho Chi Minh. An American officer, Maj. Archimedes Patti from the OSS Detachment 101, also gave advice while the speech was being written.

The ideas in the Declaration were inspired by two famous documents: the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

What Was the Declaration of Independence?

The Declaration of Independence of Vietnam was a powerful statement. It told the world that Vietnam was a free country. It also explained why Vietnam deserved to be independent. This speech marked a new beginning for the Vietnamese people.

Who Wrote It and Where?

Ho Chi Minh was the main writer of the Declaration. He wrote it in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. This was during a time of great change, known as the August Revolution. Many Vietnamese people were working together to gain their freedom.

What Inspired the Declaration?

The Vietnamese Declaration of Independence used ideas from other important declarations.

All people are created equal. They have rights that no one can take away. These rights include life, freedom, and the chance to be happy.

This famous idea came from the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. It means that all people on Earth are born equal. Everyone has a right to live, be happy, and be free.

The French Revolution's Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, made in 1791, also says: "All people are born free and have equal rights. They must always stay free and have equal rights."

These are true ideas that cannot be denied.

But for more than 80 years, the French rulers, using words like "Freedom, Equality, and Brotherhood," hurt our country and treated our people badly. They did things that were against kindness and fairness.

In politics, they took away all our people's democratic freedoms.

They made unfair laws. They set up three different governments in Vietnam (North, Center, and South). This was to stop our country from being united.

They built more prisons than schools. They cruelly killed our brave people. They stopped our protests with great force.

They controlled what people could say and think. They kept our people from learning new things.

To make our people weak, they forced them to use harmful things.

In money matters, they took everything from us. They made our people poor and ruined our land.

They stole our rice fields, our mines, our forests, and our raw materials. They controlled all the money and all the trade with other countries.

They created many unfair taxes. This made our people, especially farmers, extremely poor.

They stopped our local businesses from growing. They cruelly used our workers.

In 1940, Japanese soldiers entered Vietnam to set up bases for their fight against the Allies. The French rulers gave our country to them easily.

So, from that time, our people suffered under both the French and the Japanese. Their pain and problems grew. Because of this, from late last year to early this year, over two million of our people died from hunger. On March 9, the Japanese took away the French soldiers' weapons. The French rulers either ran away or gave up. This showed they could not "protect" us. In five years, they had sold our country to the Japanese twice.

Before March 9, the Vietminh League asked the French to work with them against the Japanese many times. But the French rulers instead increased their attacks on Vietminh members. Before running away, they killed many political prisoners held in Yen Bay and Caobang.

Even with all this, our people were always kind and understanding towards the French. After the Japanese took control in March 1945, the Vietminh League helped many French people cross the border. They rescued some from Japanese jails. They also protected French lives and property.

From 1940, our country was no longer truly a French colony. It had become a Japanese possession.

After the Japanese gave up to the Allies, all our people rose up. They wanted to get back our country's independence. They wanted to create the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

The truth is, we won our independence from the Japanese, not from the French.

The French ran away. The Japanese gave up. Emperor Bao Dai stepped down from power. Our people broke the chains that held them for almost 100 years. They won independence for their homeland. Our people also ended the old system of kings that had ruled for hundreds of years. In its place, the Democratic Republic was created.

Because of these reasons, we, the members of the temporary government, representing all Vietnamese people, declare that from now on, we end all colonial ties with France. We cancel all agreements France made for Vietnam. We also get rid of all special rights the French unfairly gained in our country.

All Vietnamese people, with one goal, are ready to fight hard against any attempt by the French rulers to take back their country.

We believe that the Allied nations, who agreed to the ideas of self-determination (people deciding their own future) and equality for nations at meetings in Tehran and San Francisco, will accept Vietnam's independence.

A people who bravely fought French rule for over 80 years, a people who fought alongside the Allies against the Fascists in recent years, such a people must be free and independent.

For these reasons, we, the members of the temporary government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, officially tell the world that Vietnam has the right to be a free and independent country. And it is already free and independent. All Vietnamese people are ready to use all their strength, to give their lives and property, to protect their independence and freedom.

Why Did Vietnam Want Independence?

For many years, Vietnam was controlled by France. This was called French colonial rule. The French took away many freedoms from the Vietnamese people. They made unfair laws and built many prisons. They also took Vietnam's resources like rice, mines, and forests. This made many Vietnamese people very poor.

French Rule in Vietnam

The French rulers did not allow Vietnamese people to have much say in their own government. They divided Vietnam into different parts, which made it harder for the people to unite. They also controlled what people could read and learn.

Japanese Occupation

In 1940, during World War II, Japanese soldiers took control of Vietnam. The French rulers did not fight back much and allowed this to happen. This meant the Vietnamese people were now controlled by both the French and the Japanese. This made their lives even harder. Many people died from hunger during this time.

Vietnam's Fight for Freedom

After Japan surrendered at the end of World War II, the Vietnamese people saw their chance. They rose up to take back their country. They wanted to create their own government, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The Declaration made it clear that Vietnam had won its freedom from Japan, and that the French no longer had any right to rule.

What Did the Declaration Say?

The Declaration announced that Vietnam was breaking all ties with France. It said that Vietnam would no longer follow any agreements France had made for it. It also removed any special rights the French had taken in Vietnam. The Declaration ended by saying that the Vietnamese people were ready to fight to protect their new independence and freedom.