Was Communism Contained?
By: Javanyea Moore
What is communism?
Communism (from Latin communis – common, universal)[1][2] is a socioeconomic system structured upon the common ownership of the means of production and characterized by the absence of social classes, money,[3][4] and the state; as well as a social, political and economic ideology and movement that aims to establish this social order.
Vietnam War & United States Involvement
The United States got involved when the Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred. That was when the North Vietnamese attacked U.S. Navy ships.
The troops in North Vietnam were using the Ho Chi Minh trail which was a way to get to South Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia. The U.S. started bombing Laos and Cambodia to try stop the Viet Cong, but the people in those countries sided with the Viet Cong so the U.S. left.
Then in 1975, the South Vietnamese surrendered and Vietnam was reunited as a communist country and still is.
The guerrilla group, Viet Cong, had a large impact on the containment of communism. Since we bombed neighboring countries of Vietnam to destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail and Viet Cong, they sided with them. Then we lost Vietnam to communism but Cambodia transitioned from communism.
Korean War & United States Involvement
North Korea were communists and wanted to unit all of Korea under communist rule. A common theory was the domino theory, if one country became communists, all the others around would too.
On June 25, 1950, General Chai Ung Chai and the North Korean army invaded South Korea.
The U.N. and the U.S. put the domino theory into play and sided with South Korea.
In the final 2 years of war, peace talks reached a deadlock and the sides involved in the war decided to take a break.
The war ended in a stalemate, niether sides getting a lot of territory. Then in 1953, an armistice is declared which is an agreement to stop fighting.
The involvment of the U.S. helped the containment of communism in the Korean War. When we joined, we took the city of Seoul back from North Korea. After U.S. bombings destroying Pyongyang, sides took a break and then an armistice was declared. Now, South Korea is very prosperous and North Korea has many economic problems
Communism in China
Long March- The Nationalist troops of 700,000 made the Red Army of 100,000 troops march 6,000 miles west and north to escape. Mao Zedong picked up poor farmers to join the communist group so they all would be equal.
The Great Leap Forward- Mao Zedong wanted to industrialize China so since they were communist, they have a command economy so Mao told all the farmers to go work in factories. Since there weren't a lot of farmers, many people starved to death because the famers weren't farming. Many peopl began to question Mao Zedong's leadership.
Cultural Revolution- Mao Zedong wanted to renew the spirit of the Chinese Communist Revolution. He didn't want people to focus on traditions from the past. He banned religions and any ideas about western democracies. Banned expression through art.
Tiananmen Square- A protests of people who were against communism. This protest became violent and the authorities brought tanks to kill the protesters. Then a line o tanks come down a road and a man known as "Tank Man" stands in front of the tanks so they couldn't get past.