Who is a great leader 1 How are

Who is a great leader? 1. How are great people in a society commemorated? 2. Does everyone believe they are great people/leaders? 3. Who is our greatest leader?

Lincoln Memorial

Parthenon - Athens

Was Mao Zedong a Hero or a Villain?

Mao’s Mausoleum - Beijing

Rise of Communism in China

How does a group gain political power? • “A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and (noble). A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another…Every Communist must grasp the truth; Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. ” – Mao Zedong

Communist Victory • By 1949, the Communist had defeated the U. S. backed Nationalist Party in a civil war – The Nationalists retreated to Taiwan where they still are today.

Mao in Power • Propaganda made Mao a popular hero – Spread of ideas to promote a cause or damage an opposing cause • Under Mao, China restored order and ended foreign influence • Helped to urbanize and industrialize China

• “I had been taught that Chairman Mao was like the sun itself. At home, ‘Mao’ had been by first word after ‘Mama, ’ ‘Baba, ’ and ‘Nai Nai’…Later I had learned to say, ‘I love Chairman Mao’ and ‘Long live Chairman Mao. ” – Liang Heng

The Great Leap Forward • Mao’s first attempt to have China rapidly urbanize. • Divided China into commune’s – Included several villages (20, 000 people), thousands of acres of land • Commune controlled land people’s lives – Families split up: men, women, and children sleep separately • Told many farmers to stop farming and produce steel, roads, and buildings • Millions died of starvation

The Cultural Revolution • Mao blamed for the disaster of the Great Leap forward and was being pushed aside by other leader’s of the Communist Party • Mao’s attempt to regain control after the failure of the Great Leap Forwards. • Convinced young people to help find “capitalist roaders” responsible for the GLF failure – They attacked people who were not fully supportive of Mao

Mao Zedong