Peace negotiations between the U.S. and North Vietnam had been ongoing since 1968. In fact, Richard Nixon was elected president that year largely because he promised to find a way to “peace with honor” in Vietnam. However, it was not until four years later that the Vietnam War actually came to an end.
The accords did little, however, to solve the turmoil in Vietnam or to heal the drastic domestic divisions in the United States.
Most Americans were relieved simply to be out of the Vietnam quagmire. The war against communism in Southeast Asia cost over 50,000 U.S. lives and billions of dollars. The Vietnam War also seriously fractured the consensus about the Cold War that had been established after World War II.
For Vietnam, the accords meant little. The cease-fire almost immediately collapsed, with recriminations and accusations flying from both sides. In 1975, the North Vietnamese launched a massive military offensive, crushed the South Vietnamese forces, and reunified Vietnam under communist rule.
