In the waning years of the Cultural Revolution, an ailing Mao achieved the last great political move of his career, normalizing relations with the United States. Mao had initially appealed to the United States before the Communist victory in the Civil War, but had been ignored by fiercely anti-Communist members of the U.S. State Department…. Read more »
Forced to flee to the southwestern city of Chongqing by the Japanese advance, Chiang spent the next seven and a half years of the war ineffectively resisting the Japanese and worrying about the communists. Chiang received military aid from the British and Americans, and even had an American Chief of Staff, General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell…. Read more »
When Mao died on September 9, 1976, he passed over the disgraced Deng Xiaoping to make Hua Guofeng his successor. Hua moved quickly against the Gang of Four, including Jiang Qing, but proved no match for the resilience and connections of Deng Xiaoping. Deng slowly consolidated support in the party and army for his cause,… Read more »