There were many factors that made the Cold War progressively worse over time. Possibly the largest cause of the worsening relations between the U.S. and Russia was the Vietnam War. North Vietnam’s goal was to unite Vietnam under the means of Communism which went against South Vietnam’s Capitalist state. During the war, Russia and the U.S. backed different parts of Vietnam, intensifying the conflict between the two countries. The U.S. was supporting South Vietnam while Russia was supporting North Vietnam. Although the U.S. didn’t want to damage it’s relationship with Russia any further, the United States felt that it was necessary to protect Vietnam from Communism. Russia was motivated to back North Vietnam because a victory would demonstrate