What line temporarily divided Vietnam after the 1954 Geneva Conference?
Answer
17th parallel
What line temporarily divided Vietnam after the 1954 Geneva Conference? The answer is the 17th parallel.
The Geneva Accords established a provisional military demarcation line near the 17th parallel north. It separated the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, led by the Viet Minh, from the French-backed State of Vietnam while a nationwide settlement was supposed to follow.
This was not intended to be a permanent international border. The agreements called for elections to reunify Vietnam in 1956, but those elections never took place. The temporary division hardened into the political boundary between communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam, helping set the stage for the later Vietnam War.
A common mix-up is confusing the 17th parallel with the 38th parallel, which divided North and South Korea. The 49th parallel is associated with part of the United States–Canada border, while the Mason–Dixon line is a historic boundary in the United States.