Essay

The most effective tool at Mao's disposal was the expert use of propaganda and terror tactics. The manipulation of peasants and brutal treatment of opposition supporters allowed Mao to secure a single party state.

     Mao had initially needed the peoples support if he was going to be able to combat the much more skilled and equipped Nationalist army. Propaganda was used in order to make the Communists seem like friends of the peasants. Source A shows a poster that describes how Red Army soldiers helped defeat the invading Japanese forces. The aim of the poster was to make it seem like the Communists wanted to ensure the interests of the peasants were protected.

     Source B describes the conditions the Communists had set in place in order to ensure their power. Taxes had continued to increase despite little to no food was able to get to the peasants due to greedy merchants. A series of droughts had struck which only served to add further strain to an already breaking system. One reform measure that gained the peasants favor was a restriction of rent and ensuring even the poorest had some land.

     Source C includes accounts that go into explicit detail regarding the terror tactics Mao used to keep order once Communist China was established. A blockage was ordered for the city of Changchun, which led to roughly 330,000 deaths. Mao had refused to allow the civilians to flee the city, instead allowing citizens to starve nearly to death, only to have Communist soldiers enter the city and begin executing them. Some Communist soldiers had such moral problems with the executing of civilians that many committed suicide afterwards.