The Social and Economic Changes Made by the Communists in China in 1949
On his ascension to power in China in 1949, Chairman Mao said: “The People’s Republic of China will strive for independence, democracy, peace, unity, prosperity and strength.” Little did Mao know it would be nine years, and many reforms later that China would still be striving for those things.
Mao would start a whole series of reforms aimed to appease and change the public, starting with the Marriage Law. The Marriage Law stated that women had to be 18 years and men 20 years in order to marry; thus preventing the marriage of children which had gone on for years before Communist rule. Women were given more rights, divorce
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In line with advances in farming, the Communists had to make changes in the economy so that it could be sustained. The first major change the Communists made in this field was to take major banks, railways and a proportion of heavy industry back into public control. All the profits were taken from private owners and put into the State Treasury. In 1951, A People’s Bank was opened to replace private banks, and to remove inflation (such inflation that had been seen sky-rocketing before the Communists came to power). In addition, as farmers were producing more grain, to avoid food shortages they had to sell the Government 15-20% of their produce at a low price.
China needed investment to fund their ever-growing country’s needs. Mao went to the USSR to receive aid. Unfortunately, China received just $300M but more importantly a vital 10,100 engineers to fund their first five-year plan. China used this money to develop heavy industry, which was necessary to save the country from future turmoil. 700 new production plants helped China to double their output of coal, oil and cement and quadruple the amount of pig iron, steel and fertilizer produced. These types of advances had never been seen before in China, yet they did not come without a cost. Light industry, such as cotton making, was neglected whilst this
At the end of the 1940’s and the beginning of the 1950’s, the United States were in the midst of the Second Red Scare and a fear that Communism might over throw the American way of life. Cold War tensions were at an all time high, which only fueled the widespread fears of Communist subversion. It was here that Senator Joseph McCarthy became a public face when he began making claims that the U.S. Government, as well as many other areas of the country, including the entertainment industry, had been invaded by Soviet and Communist spies, looking to destroy America from within. Hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Hollywood Blacklisting, and anti-communist activity from the FBI soon followed. McCarthy was under intense analysis
Communism is a system of social organisation which formerly consumed almost a third of countries in the entire world, having originated in Russia. The first official communist state was founded during the Russian revolutions in 1917, due to the inaugural communist political party ‘Bolsheviks’ gaining primal power. Afterwards, the influence of communism spread to other countries with the likes of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and East Germany to name a few. These countries that were governed on communist principles were known as the ‘Eastern Bloc’. Even countries in Asia were persuaded into the theoretically human equality system such as China, Laos and Vietnam. Communism was gathering strength to strength every year in the mid 20th century, but eventually its impact was wiped off in the late 20th century when the Berlin War was knocked down in 1989, ending the barrier between the Eastern and Western blocs. Communism arguably was the most influential social experiment in history, but also the most flawed and its failure to change the world permanently will always remain significant in history.
Tracing back the history of China, Xia Dynasty of the second millennium BCE was the earliest dynasty in China, which was centered along the Yellow River. Before China was unified, it was the time during which most of China's cultural tradition arose. Chinese civilization ascended and developed in a vast area, one-third larger than the United States if such dependencies as Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet are included. For centuries China was almost completely isolated from the other centers of civilization by mountains, deserts, and seas. This isolation helps explain the great originality of China's culture. China has many mountain ranges and three river systems that rise close together on the high Tibetan plateau and flow eastward to
China has been a communist country. Despite persistent debate over an extended period of time, the question whether which Chinese government is the most responsive to its people has never been permanently settled. However, I dare to claim that Qing Dynasty was the most open and receptive to its people among several Chinese governments. Some people might contend that Republic of China, Warlords, and Chinese Communist Party were the most responsive to its people. However, a close examination throughout this essay will clearly reveal the fallacious nature of their argument. My line of reasoning will derive its support from the most fundamental sources of human wisdom and history.
Josef Stalin and Mao Zedong were both very similar and still quite different. Each of these great leaders wished to transform his country into something new and powerful. Though their methods of rule were not the same, they each were extremely effective leaders and had enormous impacts on his own country. Russia, before Stalin, could absolutely be considered as being a weak and peasant country. China, before Mao Zedong, was attempting, but failing, to modernize efficiently under Nationalism. These two countries under Stalin and Mao Zedong advanced quickly and went from being smaller and mostly powerless countries to global powers. These advances, however, did not come without sacrifice. Both countries suffered an astronomical number
Our federal government involvement with communism during the mid-1950s is what made the Communist threat such a big concern or obsession for the general public. Between the 1940s and 1950s, almost every government agency was on a crusade against Communists. Although the name for this phenomenon was taken from Senator McCarthy, McCarthy wasn’t the one that held the most influence in the development of McCarthyism. It was the executive branch of the government. This branch brought up concerns about national security and built the foundation for the anti-Communist campaign to operate on. The main reason for this was to gain support for the Cold War and obtain bipartisan backing for foreign policy. Truman and his administration were worried that
China and Russia are both countries with strong state traditions who have favored communist systems over the western idea of democracy. But, in the 1990’s, China and Russia began to stray from their communist systems in their own ways. Russia began the shift with rapid political liberalization under Gorbachev followed by the fall of the Soviet Union. China, on the other hand, embarked on a managed transition with step by step introduction of capitalism while the CCP remained the sole political power. China’s transition was hugely successful, experiencing astounding GDP growth and the largest increase in human welfare in history. Russia’s reforms on the other hand was a failure as the soviet lost half its territory and population. Following the fall of the Soviet Union was an economic recession with an increase in crime and death rates. China experienced a huge increase in human welfare while Russia saw a huge downturn. After comparing China’s and Russia’s different path towards modernization, China has seen stronger and stabled growth as opposed to Russia’s shortcomings.
It is located in China, The Chinese revolution is about overthrowing the Manchu dynasty and in the establishment of a republic in 1912 or the events that culminated in the overthrow of the Nationalist regime and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949.The another name for The Chinese Communist Revolution is The Xinhai Revolution, it started at October 10 1911 – February 12 1912. The Communist Party of China is the founding and ruling political party of the People’s Republic of China and it is control by Mao zedong and other communist but the leader is Mao Zedong his own self and, the Nationalist China is a government on the island of Taiwan established and is controlled in 1949 by Chiang Kai-shek
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The Cultural Revolution had a massive impact on China from 1965 to 1968. The Cultural Revolution is the name given to Mao’s attempt to reassert his beliefs in China. Mao had not been a very self-motivated leader from the late 1950’s on, and feared others in the party might be taking on a leading role that weakened his power within the party and the country. Basically, the Cultural Revolution was a failed attempt by Mao to re-impose his authority on the party and therefore, the country as well. Not only did the Cultural Revolution have a massive impact on China, but many other countries as well. Having a huge tragedy like the CR in history, we have to face and learn from it to avoid an event like this from repeating itself in the future.
In 1949, after a long lasting contest for leadership, the Communists were able to gain power. In 1900, China was ruled by the Manchu dynasty, however less than in half a century a completely new government came into power. The Qing government had already been weak due to European countries because they gained great influence in China’s affair by using forces. They became so unpopular that people plotted to overthrow them. Despite the fact that the revolution of 1911 failed to overthrow them, it made the government collapse. People needed changes. But none of the leadership or the Party government could achieve what they promised in order to make the lives of people better in China. The Communist
Mao Zedong’s rise to political power as chairmen of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was made possible by the failings of the GouMinDan (GMD). After the fall of the Qing dynasty, in 1911, China fell into disarray where warlords had power, rather than a national government. Sun Yat-sen began a nationalist group whose militaristic tacts allowed them to unite china under a singular party, the GMD. Despite many revolutionary promises very little positive changes were made by Chiang Kai-shek, who became leader of the GMD in 1925.However because of the party’s lack of political knowledge and poor socio-economic abilities the GMD’s rule was a failure. Mao used this to project his own ideology on China in the form of Maoism. Mao’s ability to take advantage of China’s bad situation allowed him to receive the support he required in order to rise to power.
Communism is a system of government, a political ideology that rejects private ownership and promotes a classless, stateless society based on common ownership of all property and the means of production, where by all work is shared and all proceeds are commonly owned. Communism is practised in China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba. However most of the world’s communist governments have been disbanded since the end of World War II. Soon after the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II, Communist forces began a war against the Kuomintang in China. The Communists gradually gained control of the country and on the 1st October, 1949, Mao Zedong announced the victory of the Communist party and the establishment of the People's
The Coming to Power of the Communists in China in 1949 The leadership of China at the beginning of the 20th Century was very different to how it is today. The Communists did not come to power without a long and bitter struggle against the many foes that came across their path between the time of their creation, in 1921, and their eventual success in 1949. The Double Tenth Revolution of 1911 overthrew the emperor of China, as he was only a child and could not contain the ever-depleting condition of the nation.
In 1949 a powerful communist leader by the name of Mao Zedong came to power based on his idea for a, “Great Leap Forward.” This idea was meant to bring China’s economy into the twentieth century. He had assembled a revolutionary government using traditional Chinese ideals of filial piety, harmony, and order. Mao's cult of personality, party purges, and political policies reflect Mao's esteem of these traditional Chinese ideals and history. However, the product of this revolution created a massive national shortage in vital materials and initiated a wide scale famine to China’s people (Gabriel).