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Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cộng Hòa Democratic Republic of Vietnam ← 1954–1976 → Flag Anthem Tiến Quân Ca (Army March) Location of North Vietnam Capital Hanoi Language(s) Vietnamese Religion Buddhism Government Communist state President  - 1954–1969 Hồ Chí Minh First secretary  - 1960–1986 Lê Duẩn Historical era Cold War  - Vietminh enters Hanoi October 10, 1954  - Disestablished July 2, 1976 Area  - 1960 157,880 km2 (60,958 sq mi) Population  - 1960 est. 15,916,955       Density 100.8 /km2  (261.1 /sq mi) Currency đồng

North Vietnam, also called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) (Vietnamese: Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cộng Hòa/  越南民主共和^[1]), was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976.

During World War II, Vietnam was part of French Indochina and also under Japanese occupation. After Japan surrendered, the DRV was proclaimed in Hanoi on September 2, 1945 by Vietminh leader Hồ Chí Minh. In March 1946, an elected National Assembly approved Hồ as the head of the government and former emperor Bảo Đại as supreme advisor. France accepted Hồ's government in March 1946. Non-communist Vietnamese politicians, ousted from the DRV on Oct. 30, went south. In November, the French reoccupied Hanoi and the French Indochina War followed. Bảo Đại agreed to become head of the Cochinchina government in 1949, which was then renamed the State of Vietnam. Following the Geneva Accord of 1954, Vietnam was partitioned. The DRV became the government of North Vietnam while the State of Vietnam retained control in the South.

The Geneva Accord provided that nationwide elections would be held in 1956, but the accord was rejected by South Vietnam. During the Vietnam War (1959–1975), North Vietnam fought to reunify the country under their rule, fighting against the military of South Vietnam and their anti-communist allies. At one point, the U.S. had 600,000 troops in the South. At the end of the war, the North Vietnamese army conquered South Vietnam. The two states were merged in 1976 as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Independence proclaimed

Soon after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, the Vietminh entered Hanoi and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.^[2] U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt had spoken against French rule in Indochina and America was supportive of the Vietminh at this time.

In January 1946, a general election was held to establish a National Assembly. Public enthusiasm for this event suggests that the Vietminh had a great deal of popularity at this time, although the pro-French newspapers of Saigon delighted in pointing out the various flaws in the voting process.^{[nb 1]}

When France declared Cochinchina, the southern third of Vietnam, a separate state as the "Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina" in June 1946, Vietnamese nationalists reacted with fury. In November, the National Assembly adopted the first Constitution of the Republic.^[3] The French reoccupied Hanoi and the Franco-Viet Minh War (1946-54) followed.

Partition of Indochina

Following the partition of Vietnam in 1954 at the end of the First Indochina War, around a million Vietnamese migrated to either the North and to the South. For example, an estimated 800,000 Catholics moved south.^[4] The Catholic migration is attributed to an expectation of persecution of Catholics by the North Vietnamese government, as well as publicity employed by the Saigon government of the President Ngô Đình Diệm.^[5] Concurrently, an estimated 130,000 people from South Việtnam who supported the Viet Minh headed for the North with the aid of Polish and Soviet ships.^[4]

Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted various agrarian reforms, including land redistribution. Large landowners and rich peasants were publicly denounced as landlords (địa chủ), and their land distributed to poor and middle peasants.^[6] In some cases there were mass slaughters of landlords.

A literary movement called Nhân văn-Giai phẩm (from the names of the two magazines which started the movement) attempted to encourage the democratization of the country and the free expression of thought. Intellectuals were thus lured into criticizing the leadership so they could be arrested later, following the model of Mao Zedong's Hundred Flowers campaign in China.

International relations

North Vietnam's capital was Hanoi and its was a one party state led by the Vietnam Workers' Party.

In the late 1950s, Hanoi began sending supplies and soldiers south along the Ho Chi Minh Trail to fight the Saigon government. In 1965 the United States sent combat troops to South Vietnam. China and the Soviet Union provided aid to North Vietnam in support of North Vietnamese military activities. This was known as the Vietnam War (1959-75)

In addition to the Vietcong in South Vietnam, other nationalist insurgencies also operated within neighboring Laos and Cambodia, both formerly part of the French colonial territory of Indochina.

History of Vietnam

Hồng Bàng Dynasty prior to 257 BC Thục Dynasty 257–207 BC First Chinese domination 207 BC – 39 AD • Triệu Dynasty 207–111 BC Trưng Sisters 40–43 Second Chinese domination 43–544 • Lady Triệu's Rebellion 248 Early Lý Dynasty 544–602 • Triệu Việt Vương Third Chinese domination 602–905 • Mai Hắc Đế 722 • Phùng Hưng 791–798 Autonomy 905–938 • Khúc Family 906–930 • Dương Đình Nghệ 931–937 • Kiều Công Tiễn 937–938 Ngô Dynasty 939–967 • The 12 Lords Rebellion 966–968 Đinh Dynasty 968–980 Early Lê Dynasty 980–1009 Lý Dynasty 1009–1225 Trần Dynasty 1225–1400 Hồ Dynasty 1400–1407 Fourth Chinese domination 1407–1427 • Later Trần Dynasty 1407–1413 • Lam Sơn Rebellion 1418–1427 Later Lê Dynasty 1428–1788 • Early Lê 1428–1788 • Restored Lê 1533–1788 • Mạc Dynasty 1527–1592 • Southern and Northern Dynasties 1533–1592 • Trịnh-Nguyễn War 1627–1673 Tây Sơn Dynasty 1778–1802 Nguyễn Dynasty 1802–1945 • Western imperialism 1887–1945 • Empire of Vietnam 1945 Indochina Wars 1945–1975 Partition of Vietnam 1954 • Democratic Republic  of Vietnam 1945–1976 • State of Vietnam 1949–1955 • Republic of Vietnam 1955–1975 • Provisional Revolutionary  Government 1975–1976 Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 1976 Related topics Champa Dynasties 192–1471 List of Vietnamese monarchs Economic history of Vietnam Prehistoric cultures of Vietnam

Fall of Saigon

With the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese armed forces on April 30, 1975, political authority within South Vietnam was assumed by the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (Chính phủ cách mạng lâm thời nước Cộng hoà miền Nam Việt Nam). This government merged with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on July 2, 1976, to form a single nation officially called the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Cộng hoà xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam).

See also

• August Revolution
• Vietnam
• Flag of North Vietnam
• South Vietnam
• Indochina Wars
• Hồ Chí Minh
• Socialist State
• People's Army of Vietnam
• Northern and southern Vietnam

Notes

References

External links

• Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
• recorded sound of that declaration
• video of this ceremony