The Lowdown: a Short History of the Origins of the Vietnam War

by Dr David Anderson

A concise history of the origins of The Vietnam War for a new generation. On September 2, 1945, Vietnamese revolutionary Ho Chi Minh boldly proclaimed his country’s independence. Just as Americans had done almost two centuries earlier in defiance of the British, Ho declared that Vietnamese patriots were, after many decades of French domination, affirming that “all the peoples on the earth are equal from birth” and “have a right to live and to be happy and free.”