The Cold War was started only because the U.S and the U.S.S.R had different ideas about their economy and governments. They both clashed, thinking that Capitalism was best and that Socialism was the best. Their relationship sure grew tense. But, they never fought war's directly. Instead, they started gaining nuclear arms in case of an all out nuclear war (WW3). But, this nuclear war never happened. There are also some historic events during the cold war such as: The Vietnam War, The Space Race, The building/fall of the Berlin Wall, and the End of WW2. The Cold war was a time of hardship for many countries around the world, but they got to see what it was like seeing 2 world superpowers fight.