Mao Zedong- Maintained the Communist stronghold in NW China

1. Ch. 17 sec 2 Communists Take Power in ChinaI. Communists vs. NationalistsA. World War II in China • Mao Zedong- Maintained the Communist stronghold in NW China • Gained support & loyalty by promoting literacy & improving food production • Nationalists forces under Jiang Jieshi controlled SW China

2. C. World War II in China 3. U.S. sent the Nationalists 1.5 billion in aid to fight the Japanese • Most of the money and supplies ended up in the hands of corrupt officers and used to fight against Mao’s Communist army

3. B. Civil War Resumes • Civil War lasts from 1946-49 and the Nationalists outnumber the Communist 3 to 1 and they are receiving aid from the U.S. • By Spring of 1949 China’s economy collapsed and the Nationalist army was in ruins

4. B. Civil War Resumes 3. Mao and his troops took control of the major cities and returned land to the peasants and proclaimed it People’s Republic of China 4. Jiang and other leaders fled to the island of Taiwan • U.S. grows uneasy when China and the Soviets signed a treaty of friendship in 1950

5. II. The Two Chinas Affect the Cold WarA. The Superpowers React • The U.S. set up a Nationalists govt. in Taiwan calling it the Republic of China • Soviets gave financial, military, and technical aid to Communist China and both pledged to protect each other if attacked

6. A. The Superpowers React 3. In Korea the Soviets occupied the North and set up a Communist govt. and the U.S. lend their support to the South

7. B. China Expands Under the Communists • China expanded borders into Tibet, India, and southern, or inner Mongolia

8. III. The Communists Transform ChinaA. Communists Claim a New “Mandate of Heaven” • China’s Communist Party had only 4.5 million members which was only 1% of the population • In order to solve this issue Mao set up two organizations to indoctrinate the people into the party; The Communist Party and the national government

9. B. Mao’s Brand of Marxist Socialism • Mao seized the land of the rich landlords who controlled 70% of the land but were only 10% of the population • His forces killed over a million landlords and then divided up the land among the peasants

10. B. Mao’s Brand of Marxist Socialism 3. The govt. then forced the peasants to join collective farms 4. Each farm was comprised of 200-300 households

11. B. Mao’s Brand of Marxist Socialism 5. Mao nationalized industry and business creating govt. ownership 6. implemented a 5year plan in 1953 to improve industry goals 7. By 1957 China’s output of coal, cement, steel, & electricity increased

12. Cultural Revolution • After the failure of communes (collective farms), Mao takes a less active role in gov’t. The new leaders allow some private enterprise and rewards system •  this angers Mao, who calls on young people to help society go back to the values of equality and communism • Young people respond by forming Red Guards: militia units • The Red Guards led an uprising called the Cultural Revolution • Establish a society of peasants and workers in which all were equal • Targeted anyone who resisted the communist regime