Harry Truman and Hồ Chí Minh
1/18/1946Add all page(s) of this document to activity: Show  Add only page 1 to activity: Add only page 2 to activity: Add only page 3 to activity: In 1945, during World War II, Japanese troops took control of Vietnam (under French rule at the time). At the end of the war, Ho Chi Minh—the Vietnamese Communist leader—seized an opportunity to escape decades of French rule. The day Japan surrendered to the Allies, Ho Chi Minh declared independence in front of a crowd of exhilarated Vietnamese. In a deliberate appeal for American support, he opened his speech with the words: “All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Ho Chi Minh sent this letter to President Harry S. Truman on the occasion of the assembly of the United Nations, asking for American help in securing Vietnamese independence from France. The United States did not support the Vietnamese struggle, however. The U.S. government adopted a neutral policy when France went to war to recolonize Vietnam in 1945; and President Harry S. Truman later authorized financial and military assistance to the French in 1950. This primary source comes from the Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the Department of State. National Archives Identifier: 28469393 Full Citation: Letter from Ho Chi Minh to President Harry Truman; 1/18/1946; 800 Indochina 1946; General Records, 1946 - 1948; Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the Department of State, Record Group 84; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/ho-chi-minh-truman, December 29, 2022]
DescriptionFollowing the end of World War II, Ho Chi Minh reached out to President Harry S. Truman for support in ending French rule in Vietnam. In the document, Ho Chi Minh references both the Atlantic and San Francisco charters as a basis for his claims. The Atlantic Charter was drawn up in 1941 following the outbreak of World War II by the U.S. and England and the San Francisco Charter references the document that creates the United Nations (UN Charter). In both documents, the United States lends their support for support self-government by occupied peoples during World War II. Source: . Telegram. President Hochiminh Vietnam Democratic Republic Hanoi to the President of the United States of America Washington D.C.. [online]. 28-02-1946. Kept in: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Record Group 226: Records of the Office of Strategic Services, 1919 - 2002. Washington and Pacific Coast Field Station Files, 1942 - 1945. Letter from Ho Chi Minh to President Harry S. Truman, 2/28/1946. 305263. Retrieved from https://catalog.archives.gov/id/305263?q=305263. Copyright: (c) NARA
Document for February 28th: Letter from Ho Chi Minh to President Harry S. Truman, 02/28/1946Dated February 28th, 1946, this telegram was sent from Ho Chi Minh to President Harry S. Truman, requesting the assistance of the United States government in the negotiations with
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