Communism And Conflict
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Transcript of Communism And Conflict
Communism and Conflict
Berlin AirliftAlliances Nuclear EscalationTurmoil in China
Berlin Airlift • The US, France, and
Britain withdraw their forces in 1948 and allow their three zones to form one country
• Berlin is deep within the Soviet zone of Germany
• The Soviet Union responds by holding west Berlin hostage
Berlin Airlift • Soviets cut off highway and railway access to
the city as well as water • Stalin hoped this would scare the allies into
surrendering west Berlin • US and Britain break the blockade with
airplanes!!!!!– Planes landed and took off every three minutes – 277,000 flights – 2.3 million tons of supplies
• Soviets forced to admit defeat after 11 months – Negotiations took place at the United Nations
Alliances Form
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization – Western Democracies fear WWIII erupting
from the chaos and uncertainty shown by the Berlin Blockade
– Fear the West would not be able to wage a war against the Soviet Union should one erupt
– 10 countries including US and Canada sign the collective security agreement
– First US peacetime military commitment
Alliances Form
• Soviets see NATO as a threat to their own security
• Respond by forming an alliance system of their own
• The Warsaw Pact included the Soviet Union and the satellite countries
Alliances Form
• The United States continued to search for Allies in a potential war and continue the policy of containment
• Southeast Asia Treaty Organization – SEATO– Formed to stabilize the area after the
beginning of the Korean Conflict
Nuclear Weapons
• The Soviet Union does not waste any time in developing its own atomic bomb (1949)
• The US is determined to develop an even deadlier bomb – Thermonuclear weapons were the next step – Truman okays research into the H-bomb which would
be 1,000 times stronger than the A-bomb – US successfully develops this weapon by 1952 and
the Soviets follow with their version months later
Arms Race
• As time went on the weapons become more powerful
• Constant competition to outdo the each other with sheer power
• Who could create and master the most terrifying weapons of them all
Brinkmanship
• Eisenhower assumes the presidency in 1954 – Appoints John Foster Dulles as his secretary
of state who is firmly anti-communist • Declared that if the Soviet Union or its
supporters launched an attack against the US the US would immediately retaliate.
• Willingness to go to the edge of war referred to as brinkmanship
Science and Technology
• Cold war fueled scientific research and technological advances – Needed to outdo the
other country in both weapons and prestige
• Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs)
Fragile Balance
• Watch the following movie and answer the questions.
Communist China
• Take a moment and answer the following review questions:– Who was the nationalist leader in China?– Who was the communist leader in China?– What was the Long March?
WWII Interrupts a Civil War
• During WWII China was invaded by Japan – Mao is able to beat back the Japanese in Northern
China and gain control of the area • Wins the trust and loyalty of the peasants by promoting
literacy and providing food
• Chiang Kai-Shek now called Jiang Jieshi is still in control of the nationalists – US gives about $1.5 billion in aid to his armies to fight
the Japanese– Waste aide or save it for the fight with Mao instead
Civil War Resumes • Nationalist appear to be
in the better position at the outset of the struggle– Larger army– Continued aid from the US
• Collapsing economy leads many nationalists to desert and defect to the communist army causing the Nationalists to lose the war
Two Chinas
• Mao and the People’s Republic of China – Received aid from the Soviets and had a
military alliance • Jiang and Nationalist China based in
Taiwan called the Republic of China – Supported by the US
Response to the Chinas
• US seeks to expand its own influence in Asia – Limits USSR occupation of Japan – Splits Korea into a North and South
Chinese Expansion Under Mao
• Mao expands into Inner Mongolia, India, and Tibet – Had promised autonomy to the Tibetians who
were followers of the Dalai Lama – Dalai Lama forced to flee to India as
communist China’s forces tighten on the region
Changes Under Mao
• Claimed to have a new “Mandate of Heaven”
• Communists only 1% of the population at the outset – Set up a party organization and a national
government – Mao heads both
Marx and China
• Mao wants to model Chinese economy after Marxist system – Most farmers did not own their own land – 10% of population owned 70% of the land
• Agrarian Reform Law of 1950 – Seized and redistributed land – Killed any landowner who resisted
• Forced peasants to join collective farms – What other leader has done this in history?
Marx and China
• Women given an equal place in the home and the workplace as Marx suggests – In direct conflict with the Confucian beliefs
and way of life– Completely disrupts the social order of the
country • National child care instituted to allow
women the freedom to become an equal part in the workplace
Marx and China
• Nationalization of Industry – Government takes control of the means of
production • Sets out a 5 year plan for their industry
– Succeeds – Increases output of coal, cement, and
electricity by 100%– Steel production quadruples
Great Leap Forward • Larger collective farms called communes
– 26,000 established averaging 15,000 acres and supporting 25,000 people each
– Worked together, ate together, slept in dormitories, raised their children together
– Removed personal profit motive so no reward to work hard when only the state benefited
• Program fails when it is inefficient and people hate the lifestyle– Crop failures also cause mass starvation in 1958 and
1961• Program officially ends 1961
Changes for China
• After Great Leap failure Mao diminishes role in the government
• New leaders move away from Mao’s strict socialist – Allow farmers to live in their own homes – Sale of goods from small private plots – Factory workers could compete for raises,
bonuses and promotions
Mao’s Objections
• Mao does not like the new direction – Straying away from Socialist goals
• 1966 launches a new campaign to try and keep the communists on track
• Called on the younger generation to “learn revolution by making revolution”– High School and College students leave class
and form militias called the Red Guards
Cultural Revolution • Red Guards lead Cultural Revolution • Goal of the revolution was to achieve
complete equality for all peasants and workers – Intellectual and artistic activities seen as
useless– Shut down colleges and schools – Intellectuals forced to do hard labor to purify
themselves – People who did not agree were executed or
jailed
Cultural Revolution
• Shut down factories and schools • Complete chaos and anarchy threatens to
collapse the country • Mao eventually acknowledges that the
revolution must be stopped• In 1976 Mao gives the order to dissolve
the Red Guards
Soviet Problems
• Soviet Union and China pledge friendship at the outset of Mao’s rule– Begin to fight over who will lead the worldwide
communist movement – Territory disputes along their border
• USSR ends economic aid to China in 1960