Skip to content

RP2

Why was China valued less than Europe?

After finishing these two readings, I was left wondering why China had been ignored more than Europe in the early years of the conflict. For this post, I decided to explore several reasons that I had been contemplating.

  1. Religion and Race

From my readings in this class and other classes, I think it's worth considering that the US was concerned that the Christian Euro-centric culture was under attack by communism and it was important for them to preserve it. Whether this was veiled racism or lack of interest, it seems that the loss of the Chinese culture was not as big of a loss to the US public and leaders, as the takeover of the eastern bloc and the religious persecution there. In "A Third Force", Addison is quoted as “not giv[ing] a damn about the little red-yellow-black people in various parts of the world.”

  1. Sunk Cost of Losing Europe after WW1 and WW2

I think the cultural differences are compounded by the fact that many people had thought that if Europe was lost to the communists, it would negate the victories in WW1 and WW2 and would make the efforts of soldiers who lost their lives in those wars seem fruitless.

  1. Chiang Kai-shek's Provide a Lack of Confidence

In addition, the perceived poor leadership of Chiang, I think gave some Americans a cover for not having to state the reasons discussed above. Likely, Chiang's flaws were exacerbated by the other leaders in the Cold War having such strong and favorable public images.