9.29.1 Communism and China

Mao Gains Control of China A decade after China became a republic in 1911 Communist forces tried to take control of the government Chinese nationalists were able to prevent a takeover at that time. 1927 civil war erupted between the Nationalists under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek against the Communists under the leadership of Mao Tse-tung paused when there was a common threat from the Japanese in 1937 the Nationalists focused more on defending the nation against Japanese the Communists focused more on gaining support from the Chinese peasants for socialist ideologies The Nationalists were exhausted from years of fighting, and Mao’s communists were rested and received supplies from the Soviet Union This allowed Mao’s communists to gain control of China and defeat the Nationalists The Nationalists attempted to launch a counter-offensive the United States placed an embargo on arms to the Nationalists in 1945 The United States did not support the Nationalists because leftist politicians and journalists portrayed Mao as a supporter of the people and the Nationalists as corrupt This characterization of the Nationalists hurt their relationship with the United States Two million Nationalists were forced to flee to Taiwan. October 1, 1949 Mao Tse-tung proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. China Under Communism Mao set out to make China one of the most important Communist nations in the world consolidated his power by removing individuals who threatened his power this included the independent, middle-class farmers Their farmlands were confiscated, and those not executed were forced into slave labor This attack on Chinese agriculture caused a problem, leaving those millions of Chinese peasants to face starvation due to decline in productivity issued his “Five Year Plan” a response to the failing agricultural production in 1953 China’s industrial output increased agricultural activity began to decline Mao turned to collective farming where smaller peasant farms were run as a large cooperative, but production increased little “The Great Leap Forward” policy in 1958 he was convinced that China’s willpower could overcome production obstacles millions of unskilled laborers were worked resulting in a decline in production Agricultural and industrial production continued to decline as a result of the failure of Mao’s programs 1966 Mao decided to embark on a “Cultural Revolution” a full-scale offensive was launched to remove cultural revolutionaries and foreign influences Encouraged by the Communists Party, students formed gangs known as Red Guards assaulted intellectuals and seized control of universities and businesses Among the institutions attacked was the philosophy of Confucianism Mao considered Confucianism to be dated and oppressive to women and peasants Mao feared that intellectuals who espoused this philosophy would threaten his regime The Korean War (1950-1953)  Near the end of World War II Russian forces occupied Manchuria and Northern Korea while the United States occupied the southern end of the Korean peninsula At the Potsdam Conference, both the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to grant Korea free and unrestricted elections However, the Soviets did not allow free elections and established a pro-communist government under Kim Il-Sung The United States established a free and democratic South Korea and drafted a constitution, and Syngman Rhee was elected as the first president of the Republic of Korea in 1948 Dividing the two Koreas was the “38th Parallel.” 1950 the United States announced that South Korea was outside the United States’ perimeter of defense in the Pacific North Korea considered this a chance to advance into South Korea June 25, 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea beginning the Korean War The North Korean army had financial support from the Soviets and soldiers from Communist China This advantage allowed North Korea to quickly defeat South Korea To prevent Communism from spreading President Harry S. Truman urged the United Nations to intervene elicited the military assistance of General Douglas MacArthur as supreme commander of U.S. and U.N. Forces in Korea MacArthur’s American and the South Korean forces were pushed to the southern end of the peninsula near Pusan at the Pusan Perimeter bloody combat took place The U.N. forces were able to stop the North Korean advance, and MacArthur was able to land an American force at Inchon and cut North Korean supply lines and recapture the South Korean capital of Seoul October 19, 1950 The North Korean capital of Pyongyang fell the Chinese soon after sent one million soldiers to push the Americans and South Korea back January 4, 1951 Seoul fell Douglas MacArthur believed the battle against Communism would be won or lost in Asia wanted to invade China itself military leaders did not want a full-scale conflict against China  MacArthur protested, leading to his removal from command Truman refused to use military might to win the conflict this caused the Americans to fight a war of attrition against the Chinese army in Korea Both sides were in a deadlock until 1953 Khrushchev’s policy of peaceful co-existence received attention the Russians pressured China and North Korea to accept a truce with the United Nations and South Korea July 27, 1953. South Korea gained a small amount of territory cost them one million civilian causalities and 400,000 military casualties The United States suffered 162,000 casualties and 5,000 men were placed in prison camps The Korean War revealed that the United States was not just at odds with the Soviet Union but the communist ideology in general Douglas MacArthur believed the United States failed to bring a conclusion to the war on communism with the truce in Korea