July 21 in History

Brought to you as This week in History by Peace Buttons. July 21, 1954

Major world powers, meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, reached agreement on the terms of a ceasefire for Indochina, ending nearly eight years of war. The war began in 1946 between nationalist forces of the Communist Viet Minh, under leader Ho Chi Minh, and France, the occupying colonial power following Japanese control during World War II. The Geneva conference included France, the United Kingdom, the U.S., the U.S.S.R., People’s Republic of China, Cambodia, Laos, and both Vietnamese governments. It ended with a peace treaty that called for independence for Vietnam and a 1956 election to unify the country. However, only France and Ho Chi Minh's DRV (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) signed the document. The United States did not approve of the agreement. Instead, they backed Emperor Boa Dai and Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in South Vietnam and refused to allow the elections, knowing, in Pres. Eisenhower’s words, that “Ho Chi Minh will win.” The result was the Second Indochina War, more commonly known as the Vietnam War.

Though we were reported as helping transport French troops to Vietnam our real history, in Indo-China, starts shortly after the above. Read about the signing of the treaty with the French

The fall of Dien Bien Phu signalled defeat for France in Indo-China President Dwight D Eisenhower said in a statement from Washington the agreement contained elements which he did not like - such as the division of Vietnam between north and south - and a great deal depended on how they worked in practice. Senate leaders from both parties went one step further and expressed their alarm at what is widely regarded as a victory for Communism.

What followed the treaty and our start of destructive Indo-China History July 21, 1878 The eight-hour was an established concept before the song. Shown is an 1856 banner from Melbourne, Australia. Publication of "Eight Hours," written by Rev. Jesse H. Jones (music) and I.G. Blanchard (lyrics), the most popular labor song until "Solidarity Forever" was published by the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) in 1915.

Eight-Hours Rev. Jesse H. Jones (music) I.G. Blanchard (lyrics) We mean to make things over, We are tired of toil for naught With but bare enough to live upon And ne'er an hour for thought. We want to feel the sunshine And we want to smell the flow'rs We are sure that God has willed it And we mean to have eight hours; We're summoning our forces From the shipyard, shop and mill Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest Eight hours for what we will; Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest Eight hours for what we will. The beasts that graze the hillside, And the birds that wander free, In the life that God has meted, Have a better life than we. Oh, hands and hearts are weary, And homes are heavy with dole; If our life's to be filled with drudg'ry, What need of a human soul. Shout, shout the lusty rally, From shipyard, shop, and mill. Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest Eight hours for what we will; Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest Eight hours for what we will. The voice of God within us Is calling us to stand Erect as is becoming To the work of His right hand. Should he, to whom the Maker His glorious image gave, The meanest of His creatures crouch, A bread-and-butter slave? Let the shout ring down the valleys And echo from every hill. Ye deem they're feeble voices That are raised in labor's cause, But bethink ye of the torrent, And the wild tornado's laws. We say not toil's uprising In terror's shape will come, Yet the world were wise to listen To the monetary hum. Soon, soon the deep toned rally Shall all the nations thrill. Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest Eight hours for what we will; Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest Eight hours for what we will. From factories and workshops In long and weary lines, From all the sweltering forges, And from out the sunless mines, Wherever toil is wasting The force of life to live There the bent and battered armies Come to claim what God doth give And the blazon on the banner Doth with hope the nation fill: Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest Eight hours for what we will; Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest Eight hours for what we will. Hurrah, hurrah for labor, For it shall arise in might It has filled the world with plenty, It shall fill the world with light Hurrah, hurrah for labor, It is mustering all its powers And shall march along to victory With the banner of Eight Hours. Shout, shout the echoing rally Till all the welkin thrill. Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest Eight hours for what we will; Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest Eight hours for what we will.

Visit their site and sign up for their newsletter, and celebrate the 50th year of the Peace Symbol.