1. The Rise and Fall of Communism
WORLD HISTORY READERS
Level 2-⑧
The Rise and Fall of Communism

2. Power in the Hands of a Few
How have most societies been controlled in history?
Since the beginning of time, societies have been controlled by a ruler, often a chief, a king or a queen. Power and money were in the hands of a few.
Most people owned very little and had little, or no, power.
What was the Industrial Revolution?
It was a time when people left their farms and went to live in cities and work in factories. It kept the power and money in the hands of a few rich people.

3. Where did the idea of “communism” come from?
The ideas of communism are not new.
Sir Thomas More
( )
The Greeks talked of a Golden Age 2,000 years ago.
Sir Thomas More wrote a book called Utopia in 1516 setting out many of these ideas.
The Communist Manifesto, 1848
Karl Marx
( )
Then in 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels put forward the idea that capitalism would end because the workers would take control of society and establish a new society based on equality.

4. The Spread of Communism
The Russian Revolution, 1917
What was the first communist country?
Vladimir Lenin
In 1917 in Russia, a group called the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, took control of Russia and created the first communist country.
A revolutionary poster in Cuba
A Chinese revolutionary poster
Which other countries became communist countries?
Eventually, communist governments came into power in Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and other Eastern European countries.
By the 1960s, communist governments had taken control of China, North Korea, Cuba, and elsewhere.
Even some African nations such as Ghana and Mali became communist.

5. How many battles were there?
The Cold War
What was the Cold War?
After World War II, two superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, tried to dominate the world.
The Soviet Union (as Russia was then called) had control of much of Eastern Europe.
A divided Europe,
Most of the Western world, including Western Europe and the USA, wanted to keep a capitalist economy based on democracy and personal freedoms.
How many battles were there?
There were no direct military battles, but even so, the Cold War lasted about 45 years.

6. Power and Influence
Where did the two sides show their power during the Cold War?
The two sides supported opposite sides in wars all over the world—in Vietnam, in Korea and nearly in Cuba.
There was even a war in space—a race to the moon.
The Berlin Wall, 1962
What was the Berlin Wall?
It was a wall that stretched for over one hundred kilometers to cut Germany into the communist East and the capitalist West.

7. The Beginning of the End
Gray socialist buildings, Lithuania
What happened in the capitalist countries over time?
Over time, the capitalist countries became richer, and their people had higher standards of living.
What happened in the communist and socialist countries over time?
People in these countries were poorer. There seemed no reward for hard work, and their economies were bad.
Who became unhappy with their governments?
People in the communist and socialist countries. They didn’t want their governments making all the decisions for everyone. They wanted to be free.

8. What major changes happened in the 1980s?
1989
What major changes happened in the 1980s?
In 1985, the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev relaxed the communist policies and its influence on its neighbors.
In 1989, Germany began tearing down the Berlin Wall.
Soon after, most of the Eastern European governments no longer followed communism as their political systems.

9. Present Day What political systems do countries have today?
Today, many of the governments who were once communist are now socialist.
They allow some freedoms and allow people to own property, such as in Vietnam, Cuba, and China.
Most of the world, however, is capitalist.
Is power and wealth now divided evenly?
No, too much power and wealth is still in the hands of a few.

10. Vocabulary chief n. communism n.
a leader or ruler of a people or community
communism n.
an economic, political, and social system where the government controls the production of all goods, and where the people are treated equally

11. Vocabulary factory n. opposite adj.
a building where things are made or put together
opposite adj.
on the other side of someone or something

12. Vocabulary race n. reward n.
a competition between people, animals, countries, etc. to see which one is fastest
reward n.
a thing that you are given because you have done something good, worked hard, etc.

13. Vocabulary reject v. wealth n. to disagree or say no to something
a large amount of money or property someone has