To what extent may the Great Leap Forward launched by Mao in 1958 be considered a failure?
To what extent may the Great Leap Forward launched by Mao in 1958 be considered a failure? When the Communist party came to power in 1949 after a brutal war against the Nationalists, China was in a devastated state. War against Japan had resulted in the destruction of many of it's cities including Beijing. China's people were left scared with the horrific memories of the Japanese army's horrendous acts. Rescuing China from the gutter was to prove to be a difficult task for Mao Zedong and his communist comrades. In order to understand the fundamental problems with the Great Leap Forward, previous reforms must be considered in order to fully assess the reasons for the it's failures. One of China's most notorious problems was land ownership. Most of China's land was owned by cruel landlords. Peasants were being exploited and were forced to work long hours for poor pay and terrible living conditions. Mao used this in order to take a fundamental step in assuring that he had total control over the people. He introduced the policy of land reform. Mao re-distributed 40% of China's land and gave it to the peasants. This proved to be a truly brilliant political decision as he swept the hearts of the peasants on his side. He realised that as 90% of China's population were peasants, he needed to appeal to the masses. This policy was considered a success as an estimated 60% of the
Causes of the Cold war.
CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR (Literature Review) This literature review is concerned with defining causes of the Cold War. Its main purpose is to try to depict views of various authors presented in texts such as "We Now Know" by John Lewis Gaddis (1997, Oxford University Press), "Cold War Illusions" by Danna H. Allin (1998, Palgrave MacMillan) and in "The Origins of the Cold War 1941-1949" by Martin McCauley (1995, Longman) and other internet sources and to compare different perspectives of perceiving the comparative approaches. Cold war as a term has many times been explained in a bit confusing way and its actual meaning has been misinterpreted. At first I would like to define "Cold War" before discussing what might have led to it. What can be agreed generally, that Cold War according to the definition of war, has never existed. Though there was not any battling, as it was during world wars, its influence on the post-war world era has been even greater. The question is, when Cold war began and when it ended. M. McCauley thinks it "began in 1947 and ended shortly after Cuban Missile Crisis of 962". (1995) If the Cold War was perceived as a sort of friction between socialism and capitalism, it began in October 1917 and ended with the collapse of the USSR in 1991. (McCauley, 1995) Anyway, the first impressions of upcoming Cold War could be seen
Assess the reasons affecting the end of the Cold War.
In 1991 after years of tension the Soviet Union was dissolved and in its place the commonwealth of independent states was formed. The dissolution of the USSR effectively brought about the end of the Cold War after 46 years of tension and strife. In this essay I will assess the reasons as to why the Cold War ended and judge as to which reason contributed the most to the termination of the Cold War. The main contributor towards the Soviet Union's demise was Ronald Reagan, the US president who was in power during the waning years of the Soviet Union. However the general weakness of the communist system itself coupled with the likes of reformists such as Mikhael Gorbachev and popular discontent also ensured the dissolution of the Soviet Union and thus bringing about the end of the Soviet Union. In 1981 President Ronald Reagan a hardline anti-communist was elected, and promptly brought about the end of détente by abruptly stopping SALT II negotiations. What followed was an America bent on making it tough for the Soviet Union in any way possible, with Reagan at the helm. Reagan effectively catalysed the demise of the Soviet Union, by interfering with their economy. Reagan saw the chink within the Soviet Union's armour: "You had to wonder how long the Soviets could keep their empire intact. If they didn't make some changes, it seemed clear to me that in time Communism would
Cold War: Soviet Perspectives
Cold War: Soviet Perspectives After World War II, Joseph Stalin saw the world as divided into two camps: imperialist and capitalist regimes on the one hand, and the Communist and progressive world on the other. In 1947, President Harry Truman also spoke of two diametrically opposed systems: one free, and the other bent on subjugating other nations. After Stalin's death, Nikita Khrushchev stated in 1956 that imperialism and capitalism could coexist without war because the Communist system had become stronger. The Geneva Summit of 1955 among Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States, and the Camp David Summit of 1959 between Eisenhower and Khrushchev raised hopes of a more cooperative spirit between East and West. In 1963 the United States and the Soviet Union signed some confidence-building agreements, and in 1967 President Lyndon Johnson met with Soviet Prime Minister Aleksei Kosygin in Glassboro, New Jersey. Interspersed with such moves toward cooperation, however, were hostile acts that threatened broader conflict, such as the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962 and the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia of 1968. The long rule of Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982) is now referred to in Russia as the "period of stagnation." But the Soviet stance toward the United States became less overtly hostile in the early 1970s. Negotiations between the United States and
What impact did Mao have on the lives of Chinese people since 1949 in the following areas: economic, social and political?
What impact did Mao have on the lives of Chinese people since 1949 in the following areas: economic, social and political? In 1949 the Communists defeated the governing Kuomintang after years of Chinese civil war. The leader of the Communists and the man who was now to become the Chairman of China was Mao Tse-Tung. Mao had been at war or on the run from the Kuomintang for over 20 years and as leader of China he announced a vision of a new and peaceful China. The Communists' aims and policy was set out in the Common Programme, written in September 1949. It said that China would be a 'Peoples Democratic Dictatorship', with 'democracy for most people but a dictatorship for reactionaries'; anybody opposed to communism was classed as a reactionary. "The People's Republic of China strives for independence, democracy, peace, unity, prosperity and the strength of China..." these were the ideals that Mao set for the Chinese people but did this become reality? By splitting Chinese life and three categories, economic, social and political, I am trying to determine what impact Mao had on the lives of the Chinese people since 1949. Mao, like the Russian communists set out to reform China by using a series of set year plans. The first of these 'Five Year Plans' aimed to make China world class power, with the ability to rival other great Nations. He set clear targets on different
Cold war 1945-1954
History Essay The Cold War 1945-1954 The Origins of the Cold War After World War 2, the Allies moved into Germany and Berlin in 1945, the US and Britain came from the west and the Russians came from the East. There was much dispute over who had the right to stay in Germany but in the end Russia stayed in the West and the rest of the allies stayed in the East. This created a lot of tension between the allies after World War 2 since Russia was strict about who left and who entered East Germany. Russians were angry at the West as they believed they had left Russian forces to fight more Germans as the war ended, thus costing Russian lives. Winston Churchill, the leader of Britain was concerned that the huge forces of Russia in Eastern Europe could become a threat to the UK and the rest of Europe. There were many meetings between the 'Big Three', Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Harry S. Truman, including the Potsdam meeting where Truman warned Stalin of a 'powerful new weapon' that the USA was developing, more specifically the atomic bomb. This was before the Japan bombings, and the Russians were also working on nuclear weapons. A week after the Potsdam Meeting Japan was attacked by the USA with atomic bombs and Japan surrendered a few days afterwards, Stalin was frustrated as the Russians had gained little influence in Japan and the US had dominated most of Japan. In
Reasons for the Cold War.
Reasons for the Cold War The Yalta and Potsdam peace conferences of 1945 were the beginning of the tensions between the capitalist West and the communist East. The Allies reached agreements on most issues but were still divided on some very important ones. The greatest source of conflict between the East and West was Poland. In 1945 Stalin was the leader of the USSR and attended both peace conferences. Churchill attended the Yalta conference as the leader of Great Britain and was then replaced by Attlee who attended the Potsdam conference. Roosevelt also attended the Yalta conference but sadly died and was replaced by Truman who attended the Potsdam conference. By the end of the Second World War the USSR and the USA were the two superpowers, they had defeated Hitler and the Nazis and this had left both countries very powerful in comparison with the rest of the world at this post war time. Despite the USA and the USSR having been allies during the Second World War there were many disagreements at the peace conferences. These disagreements lead to great tensions between the two superpowers and therefore the Cold War began in 1949. The Cold War was the increasing tension that developed between the two superpowers. The War had two rival sides and there was spying and propaganda from both of these, which also encouraged an arms race. It was not, however a proper war
Who Started the Cold War?
Who Started the Cold War? After World War II, Communism began to spread across several European countries, such as Poland, Romania and Hungary. In the West a strong sense of fear of this ideal quickly began to spread as well. When the Cold War broke out, every nation was involved. The most prominent leaders involved were Churchill, Stalin and Truman. Together, their actions were the cause of the Cold War. After World War II, countries brought forth different views in which to restore Europe, which ultimately led to tensions internationally and as a result, the Cold War began. The President of the United States, Harry Truman, became seen as the dominant player in European affairs. He initiated the Truman Doctrine along with the Marshall Plan which set out to protect the "free" people against Communism. He begins taking control which causes difficulties among European countries. As well, his Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan particularly violated the principles of a group in charge of the well-being of the world; the United Nations. Truman truly discriminates against Communism and began creating a widespread fear of this ideal which presents a huge impact on several European countries. Truman truly disrupts the relations between all nations throughout the world. Truman accurately classifies as the person to have started the Cold War. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan,
Explain the success and failures of Mao in China
Explain the successes and failures of Mao in China There are certain parts of Mao in China were Mao was very successfully for instance his rise and consolidation of power, either by the Long March, as Mao's role as an inspirational political leader, won him loyalty of most of the population, even after his disasters of the economic policies such as the Great Leap Froward which lead to the worst famine ever recorded in Chinese history with approximately 30 million dying because of it, nevertheless Mao fought his way back to power through the Cultural Revolution. However Mao's foreign policy was questionable, especially when it comes down to the Sino-Soviet Treaty of 1950, which gave tow of China's key industrial and tradable regions away to Russia, among other terms that only really benefited Russia, in spite of this Mao's resistant of America in the Korean War, and his win against Japan in the Sino-Japanese conflict continually won Mao great loyalty and admiration among the Chinese public. Moa social policies were politically successful, but at the cost of human lives. The failure of The Great Leap Forward, mean the Mao took at step back politically, furthermore in 1960 Mao was forced to resign as President of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and from this point onwards Liu Shaoqi ("a moderate") governed China, whilst Mao reminded in the background. Mao didn't like the
Was USA losing cold war
To what extent was the USA losing the Cold War 1949-1960? During this period the USA was increasingly concerned with its global position and the need to contain the growing threat of international communism. The period started badly with the 'fall' of China to communism in 1949. The measure of US success in the Cold War at this time depends upon perception of the American position and whether the USA was content to keep communism contained or showed a willingness to 'roll back' the influence of the USSR and communist expansion. The USA showed different levels of success and failure in different regions and with different technologies. American success overall was much higher than critics have suggested. In 1949 the USA held the nuclear monopoly, this gave an additional force to US diplomacy throughout the world. With the development of the Soviet A-bomb, nuclear stalemate was established. This was a setback for the Americans who then carried out a massive investment programme to develop the more powerful H-bomb, the US dismay it took the Soviets only a year to catch up on this new technology. Although the USA was not behind in this part of the Cold War, the loss of advantage was acutely felt within Washington and broader American society, fear of the Bomb and the effects of radiation were common in US culture and attitudes. American citizens no longer felt as safe
