Name ______

Southern and Eastern Asia History

SS7H3 The student will analyze continuity and change in Southern and Eastern Asia leading to the 21st century.

a. Describe how nationalism led to independence in India and Vietnam

b. Describe the impact of Mohandas Gandhi’s belief in non-violent protest.

c. Explain the role of the United States in the rebuilding of Japan after World War II.

d. Describe the impact of communism in China in terms of Mao Zedong, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and Tiananmen Square.

e. Explain the reasons for foreign involvement in Korea and Vietnam in terms of containment of Communism

H3b-Mohandas Gandhi

  • Born 1869- Indian political leader who began adult life as a lawyer.
  • Encountered apartheid (the legal separation of the races) while living in South Africa.
  • Returned to India 1914 with a determination that all people should be treated equally regardless of their nationality or situation.
  • Although a Hindu, he saw admirable qualities in many religions.
  • Believed all people should be treated with equality and justice and didn’t feel the colonial government offered justice to Indians.
  • Lived a very simple life and became known as Mahatma, or the “Great Soul”
  • Massacre at the Temple of Amritsar that got Gandhi to act against the British colonial authority.
  • Believed it was time for the Indian people to stop obeying British laws that were unjust.
  • Believed in non-violence so advised people to resist unfair laws but to do so without any violence on their part.
  • He called this a system of civil disobedience (the refusal to obey unfair laws even if the result was punishment)
  • Spoke of the power of Satyagraha, or the force of truth.
  • Believed civil disobedience would make the world see the injustice of British rule and force a change without having to resort to violence.

*** Think about it. You see one guy repeatedly hitting another while the second guy never hits back. Who looks like the bully? That’s what Gandhi wanted the world to see.

  • Indian National Congress adopted Gandhi’s strategy of civil disobedience in the 1920s.
  • Gandhi urged resistance to British control in many ways.- stop buying British goods- refuse to pay taxes that did not benefit the Indian people- stop paying a British tax on salt.
  • Led a march across the country to the sea where Indians made their own salt by evaporating sea water.
  • It was at another later march was aimed at closing down a British salt factory that British guards clubbed and beat the peaceful demonstrators.
  • International press coverage of this incident gave Gandhi and his followers a moral advantage (doing the right thing) that they hadn’t had before.
  • People around the world sympathized and urged Britain to give the Indians their independence.
  • Gandhi’s campaign of civil disobedience gradually wore down the British.
  • After World War II, Britain finally gave up their colonial claims to India.

*** Remember that while the Hindus didn’t help Britain in the war, the Muslims did, hoping that their efforts would be rewarded after the war.

  • By 1946 the Hindus and the Muslims were at odds over how the country should be ruled.
  • A decision was made to divide the country into three countries. (East and West Pakistan for the Muslims and India for the Hindus)
  • Gandhi was extremely disappointed about this because he wanted all Indians to live together peacefully.
  • He was even more upset when violence broke out as Muslims and Hindus began to move from one area to another.
  • Gandhi is one of the most important figures in the history of India and Indian nationalism.
  • He saw this nationalism as consisting of many things- history, art, literature, customs, and religion.
  • Yet in spite of all his efforts, it was religion that was the deciding factor in the division of his country.

H3c-Role of the United States in rebuilding Japan after World War II

  • VJ Day August 14, 1945 the war in the Pacific was over.
  • September 1945Japan was reduced to rubble, industries and farms were destroyed, government was in shambles, people were demoralized, emperor was exposed as an ordinary mortal rather than a god as the people of Japan had believed him to be.
  • General Douglas MacArthur, the American commander of the occupation forces, was given the job of putting Japan back on its feet in a way that would guarantee that it would pose a military threat to any other country in the future.
  • MacArthur wanted Japan to be democratic but also wanted to respect their culture so he created Japan as a constitutional monarchy.
  • Japan’s constitution, which is still referred to as The MacArthur Constitution, created a bicameral (2 house) parliament called a Diet.
  • The emperor remained as a symbol of the country.
  • All Japanese over the age of 20 were granted suffrage (the right to vote) for members of parliament.
  • The new constitution had a Bill of Rights and guaranteed basic freedoms.
  • One clause prevents Japan from declaring war. They may only fight if they are attacked first.
  • Japanese signed all peace treaties ending the war and agreed to pay reparations (damages) to the countries they harmed during World War II.
  • American troops remained in Japan and the Japanese were not allowed to rebuild their military to any major degree.