Hanoi's War

Hanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam by Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, University of North Carolina Press, 2012. 

Viet Minh

The Communist Party of Vietnam was called the Viet Minh. They promoted both Vietnamese nationalism and Communism. They fought to expel both the Japanese (during World War II) and the French (after World War II).

South Firsters

It was not a majority of the North Vietnamese communist party (the Viet Minh) that wanted to convert South Vietnam to Communism, but rather a small clique, called South Firsters, who had strong personal ties to southern Vietnam. The two main so-called South Firsters were: Lê Duẩn, and Lê Đức Thọ. South First meant conquer SV first, then build socialism in North Vietnam. Lê Duẩn was the leader of the South-Firsters, and the head of the Southern Territorial Committee. Lê Đức Thọ: chief of Party Organizational Committee, which controlled careers of cadres. Lê Duẩn worked behind the scenes. Lê Đức Thọ was more visible. Other South-Firsters:  Phạm Hùng, General Nguyễn Chí Thanh, and Nguyễn Văn Linh. Lê Duẩn and Lê Đức Thọ repressed criticism of their agenda. They represented their political rivals as traitors. Lê Duẩn launched the 1968 Tet Offensive 

North Firsters

The main opposition group (North Firsters) to the South Firsters wanted to first make socialism work in North Vietnam before extending it to South Vietnam. North Firsters included General Võ Nguyên Giáp, Hoàng Minh Chính and Hồ Chí Minh. The South Firsters got their way because they were adept at politics.

Popular General

General Võ Nguyên Giáp was very popular with the people of North Vietnam, because he had defeated the French in 1954 at Điện Biên Phủ. 

Land Reform

The land reform campaign in North Vietnam was promoted by Trường Chinh Many peasants rebelled. The officials who were blamed for the troubles with land reform lost political power. South-Firsters used failed land reform to remove many of their rivals from power.

The Revisionist Anti-Party Affair of 1964

The Revisionist Anti-Party Affair of 1964, also called: Nhân Văn–Giai Phẩm Affair, persecuted people too close to the Soviet Union. Trần Quốc Hoàn  and the Ministry of Public Security (Bộ Công an) repressed dissent. Intellectuals and reporters were persecuted 1955-1958 liberalize. Tố Hữu was chair of Education and Propaganda Department and the main persecutor. He sent liberalizers to labor reform camps