The Vietnam War marked one of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of warfare. What was supposed to be a brief military operation turned out to be the longest war in American history. The battle lasted for more than a decade and cost the lives of more than 60,000 American soldiers and millions of Vietnamese, most of whom were civilians. This war is also considered one of the most controversial events in the history of America and the most internally divisive American conflict since the Civil War.

The aftermath of the Vietnam War still shapes the public policy and political interest of American leadership today. The topic of the Vietnam War is equally significant in academic discourse. It is always good to have fresh topics and a new look when writing your college and university essays. The Vietnam War is one of the most significant cases in history, and several papers and books have been written on it. Attempting to write another research paper about such large-scale events like the Vietnam War without proper research may not be a good idea since there are several facets to the conflict. In this context, it is best for a scholar to go through some of the best examples of essays written on this topic on this page. The aftermath of the battle observed over the past few years can be both interesting and relevant. Writing a research essay in the context of such a grand tragic historical event like the Vietnam War can be an enriching experience for any college student. 

Still today, the debate lingers over the reasons behind America's involvement in Vietnam and the possible lessons one can learn from the conflict. Many American soldiers and citizens wondered what they were even fighting for and whether the conflict was necessary at all. The aftermath of this bloodbath was more than one defeated American nation. In southeast Asia, it resulted in a severe collapse of society, culture, education, economy, environment, and Vietnam's government. The conflict could have made sense on the backdrop of the Cold War, where the conflict began as the United States deployed its armed troops to defend South Vietnam against Communist North Vietnam. However, the heavily armed military troops suffered severely from the North Vietnamese guerrilla warriors.

     Who won?

North Vietnam won the war in 1975, and the Social Republic of Vietnam (SRV) came into existence in 1976 as a new unified Vietnam. The defeat of America in Vietnam created global awareness of the change in the world order. The psychological scars of the battle have been haunting both nations to date in one way or another.

It was a lose-lose situation.

There was no clear winner in the war as both countries suffered significant losses. In fact, more bombs were dropped on Vietnam between 1964 to 1973 than the total bombs dropped during World War II. Clearly, the American leaders made a catastrophic error of judgment. Is America the messiah of democracy in the world? How can we justify the bloodbath and countless loss of lives in the name of democracy? The United States of America went down in the spiral to save its face in the international community. Getting into a fight is easy but getting out of it is both challenging and messy. The Americans suffered a significant loss in the military and had to be rebuilt while the Vietnamese faced the overwhelming task of rebuilding their nation.

The outcome of the war was a great lesson to the military and foreign policies of America. The citizens of both countries will continue to carry the battle scars for many more years to come. It is a conflict that will remain morally and historically problematic. The Vietnam War was not only a war between two countries but one filled with prejudice, ego, and competition.