Communism
Jayden McCarter
Communism
A political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and need.
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong was a Chinese Communist Leader of the Red Army, the army used to enforce communist regulations throughout China. He was involved in the Long March, The Great Leap Forward, The Cultural Revolution, and Tiananmen Square. These events have impacted China majorly and the rest of the world.
The Long March
The Long March has a huge play in the enrollment of communism. It has led to the Chinese Communist Revolution after World War II. Mao Zedong and his Red Army of 100,000 troops were forced to leave southern China and on the way 93,000 people died but on the way, Mao Zedong met plenty of peasant farmers who would help him lead the Chinese Communist Revolution after World War II. This played a huge role in the establishment of communism in China. Without it, there may have never been a communist China.
The Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward was a huge disaster all due to the idea of communism. The Great Leap Forward was when Mao Zedong used mainly farmers to work in factories but that created a shortage in farmers which caused a shortage in food and starvation causing millions of deaths. And all this was only able to take place because of communism. The idea of communism sounded great to the farmers because they were on the lower end of classes throughout China. So, of course they would want to stop and work in factories, get paid more, and have a better life then what they had before.
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution was huge for Mao Zedong and his communist ideas. This was a time period when Mao Zedong banned all religions, self expressions, and art supporting anything but communism. Those who disobeyed were punished or killed. Those in China were forced to follow communist ideas. Communism was constantly forced throughout China and children were forced to learn about the ways of communism so they can be supportive and once they reach high school they will come together to form Red Guards who enforce the policies of the Cultural Revolution (communism ideals).
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a moment or event in which the CCP began to use force to enforce communist regulations. Tiananmen Square was when tons of people gathered at Tiananmen Square and protested day in and day out against the communist government. They even beat members of the Red Army to death, but the Red Army didn't take action until June 4, 1989. The Red Army brought in troops and tanks and killed everyone in Tiananmen Square. This event that was used to install fear into other people. This was an important symbol that showed the consequences to speaking out against communism. This was helpful in ways of making people support communism. Now, most people follow communism in China.
Here We Go
The Red Army took off into Tiananmen Square
The Military
The Red Army brought hundreds of tanks and troops into Tiananmen Square
The Massacre
Tons of people died on July 4, 1989
The Korean War
North Korea was a communist country and wanted all of Korea to be united under a communist rule. South Korea was a non-communist country who was invaded by North Korea. North Korea had gained plenty of South Korea's land but when the U.S. and the UN joined the war, they gained all their land back for South Korea and more., almost to the border between North Korea and China. That's when China joined the war on North Korea's side and gained their land back. This went on for awhile until an armistice was met. The countries were divided at the 38th parallel and the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) was created. Now, South Korea is a prosperous country embracing democratic ideals.
The Vietnam War
North Vietnam was communist and South Vietnam was non-communist. The U.S. got involved due to the fear od the domino effect and the Gulf of Tokin incident. The Northern Vietnamese use the Ho Chi Minh trail and the Viet Cong was a major weapon in the war. The U.S. ended up bombing both cities due to trying to eliminate the Viet Cong hide outs in South and North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh trail. The bombing in South Vietnam caused those there to become apart of the Viet Cong. The U.S. and South Vietnam ended up losing the war and Northern and Southern Vietnam came together to form a communist Vietnam.
U.S. Involvement
The reason for U.S. involvement is mainly because of the fear of the "Domino Effect". The U.S. were afraid that if South Korea and South Vietnam became communist then other neighboring countries would become communist to. So they helped the sides that were non-communist.
Did the Containment of Communism Work?
I believe that the containment of communism worked because there are only 5 communist countries in the world: China, Vietnam, North Korea, Laos, and Cuba. There was once 15 communist countries but due to U.S. involvement, there are only 5. One of the countries that the U.S. helped from communism was South Korea and now they have become a prosperous country embracing democratic ideals. So, I think that the containment of communism worked.