Ho+Chi+Minh

Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the Vietminh, later renamed the Vietcong. He was originally a nationalist but as more and more western opposition mounted against him he drew closer to the Soviet Union and to China, although direct aid from China would have been frowned upon by the common Vietnamese. Ho was the leader of North Vietnam, the US's enemy during the war. Part of what caused the war was the fact that the US was unsure as to whether Ho was a communist or not.


 * HILLY'S COMMENT FOR IMPROVEMENT:** The writing above //does// a good job of discussing cause, but //not// naming the type of cause. I suggest that the details supplied by another student below be inserted, where possible, above to help make the argument that Ho Chi Minh was willing to go to war for //political// reasons. Remember, //political// means the contest for rule of a geographically defined state.

- Became the president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1955, a communist-led single party state - Soviet Union recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh went to meet with Stalin and Mao in 1950, adding to the United State's belief in monolithic communism.