Following the signing of the Geneva Accords in 1954, Vietnam was divided in half along the 17th parallel, separating the capitalist South and communist North. After the separation there existed a six year period between termed the ‘six year peace’ 1954 and 1960 as during this time there was no outright military campaign between the communist Vietnam Workers Party (VWP) under Ho Chi Minh and the Government of the Republic of Vietnam (GVN), under the leadership of Ngo Dinh Diem. During the three-hundred-day movement period, nearly one million Vietnamese migrated across the 17th parallel; however, there were many government agents that remained in enemy territory in both the North and South for both sides. Tensions increased as Diem officials
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It is from these tensions that the Viet Cong insurgency originated. It is the origin of the Viet Cong insurgency that lies a point of contention for historians. David Elliot argues in his novel, The Vietnamese War, that the Viet Cong formed from the Politburo’s influence over villagers. However, David Hunter’s novel Vietnam’s Southern Revolution, makes a case that the Viet Cong’s origins came about as a result of a ‘populous movement.’ I believe that Elliot’s’ interpretation is the more persuasive of the two, as Hunt’s view is limited to the experiences told by NLA defectors’ regarding everyday life, while Elliot encompasses both rural life and Party …show more content…
He argues that the revolution was a series of small revolutions at a personal level brought about by, “the longing for an escape from feudal backwardness and for an unprecedented happiness” (Hunt, 8) and “were not mere victims, crouched over their bowls of rice and oblivious to the larger issues others were fighting and dying to resolve” (Hunt, 9). Many of those who joined the uprising had faced extreme hardship throughout their lives and so were swayed by the local cadres’ utopian propaganda for a better life. Traditionally, villagers were viewed as a customary people given their rural isolation; however, the introduction of the consumer culture led to a social revolution among the youth. These youths became known as ‘cowboys’ and refuted the old customs, as one of the RAND informant stated, the cowboy youth were unaware “of the class struggle... and could never be employed to work with the farmers” (Hunt, 28). This social progression pushed traditional boundaries, displaying that many of the youth who participated in the resistance movement did so in an attempt to increase what Hunt terms ‘revolutionary modernism. Still, Hunt’s assertion that all villagers were actively engaged in the class struggle falls short, as his view is too limited to just those who had participated in the
It is from these tensions that the Viet Cong insurgency originated. It is the origin of the Viet Cong insurgency that lies a point of contention for historians. David Elliot argues in his novel, The Vietnamese War, that the Viet Cong formed from the Politburo’s influence over villagers. However, David Hunter’s novel Vietnam’s Southern Revolution, makes a case that the Viet Cong’s origins came about as a result of a ‘populous movement.’ I believe that Elliot’s’ interpretation is the more persuasive of the two, as Hunt’s view is limited to the experiences told by NLA defectors’ regarding everyday life, while Elliot encompasses both rural life and Party …show more content…
He argues that the revolution was a series of small revolutions at a personal level brought about by, “the longing for an escape from feudal backwardness and for an unprecedented happiness” (Hunt, 8) and “were not mere victims, crouched over their bowls of rice and oblivious to the larger issues others were fighting and dying to resolve” (Hunt, 9). Many of those who joined the uprising had faced extreme hardship throughout their lives and so were swayed by the local cadres’ utopian propaganda for a better life. Traditionally, villagers were viewed as a customary people given their rural isolation; however, the introduction of the consumer culture led to a social revolution among the youth. These youths became known as ‘cowboys’ and refuted the old customs, as one of the RAND informant stated, the cowboy youth were unaware “of the class struggle... and could never be employed to work with the farmers” (Hunt, 28). This social progression pushed traditional boundaries, displaying that many of the youth who participated in the resistance movement did so in an attempt to increase what Hunt terms ‘revolutionary modernism. Still, Hunt’s assertion that all villagers were actively engaged in the class struggle falls short, as his view is too limited to just those who had participated in the