While “Most of the young peasant activists Mao trained were shortly at work strengthening the position of the communists” (Mao Zedong, Britannica), a new leader had taken control of the Nationalist party named Chiang Kai-Shek after the death of Sun Yat-Sen. He established the Kuomintang, or the KMT, and allied with the propertied and privileged classes. When Chiang thought that the peasants showed a threat to the new nationalist party, he had massacred the peasants and workers in the cities and the countryside, virtually decimating the traces of the newly established Chinese communist party. The surviving peasants and workers of this massacre had sided with Mao to become the red army, a military branch of what was left of the CCP. (Mao Zedong Britannica) When Mao’s party was under attack in Jiangxi province, Mao had slipped through the nationalist blockade and traveled a total of 6,000 miles, losing 90 percent of his forces through this journey. During this march, Mao was proclaimed the supreme leader of the party, ultimately solidifying his power as an undisputed leader. This became known as the long march. (Mao Zedong, Spencer). When Japan had attacked China, Mao and Chiang had made a pact to fight the enemy together. During this time period, Mao had riled his supporters, and stood out as the primary party that had fought back the Japanese. When they successfully won …show more content…
In china, people either opposed him or united under him, being effective and ineffective responses. Mao had became leader of the party during the long march, drove Chiang Kai-Shek and the Kuomintang party to Taiwan gaining the independence of China and redistributing land to the peasants, and sep reforms throughout China. However, things like the Hundred Flowers Campaign, Great Leap Forward, and Cultural Revolution all had a negative effect on China. In response to this, the people still loved him, mostly being peasants and workers. However, the higher classes who sided with the Kuomintang party had opposed Mao’s ideals. (Encylopaedia Britannica, Tucker) As dictatorships rapidly dwindle in number, countries approach more protecting and civil systems such as democracies, republics, and capitalist nations. However, some countries, even today are affected from the controversial leadership of a dictatorship. This dictator can range from caring to evil, and the effects can range from helpful to damaging. Often, people react in various ways; whether it be to fight back as with the nationalists in Mao Zedong’s case, unite as in the communist party’s case,or even stand by and become victimized or helped under wildly different dictatorships all over the