PART X: REST,
RECOVERY, AND THE RISING THREAT OF THE REDS
In
1948, President Rogers campaigned for reelection with the slogan, “Victory,
Peace, and Prosperity.” The people of America loved their war-time president,
who had already helped the nation begin the trasnition back to peacetime after
the Hawaii Treaty was signed in 1946. When it came time for the election, the
republicans didn’t have a chance. Rogers won in a landslide. However, to show
that he was truly willing to have a bipartisan government, he appointed Dwight
D. Eisenhower, a hero from the Battle of the Philippines, to the post of
Secretary of State.
The
main issue facing the Rogers government was the rebuilding of parts of war-torn
Asia, namely China. During the war, most of China had been under Japanese
control, and with their removal there was a serious power vaccum that the US
was temporarily filling until a more permanent solution could be established.
The communists had nearly been whiped out by the Japanese, their leader Mao Zedung
captured and executed in 1944. The nationalist faction was the largest faction
of post-war China, but not the majority. The Americans called all the factions
together and on July 1, 1947, established the Chinese Provisional Government,
with a mandate of having a constitutional convention held within 1 year.
- Springer, Dr. Joseph. I
Never Met a Man I didn’t Like: The Will Rogers Presidency."Chapter 3:
Victory, Peace, and Prospertiy.” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006
PANAM RESTORES AIRSHIP SERVICE TO PACIFIC
LOS ANGELES, April 3- PanAm has announced that they will be
fully restoring their Pacific airship service on April 15 with the first
reguarl airship flight to Sydeny since the bombing of Manila in 1944. This
comes two days after the British Imperial Airways announced that the newly
built R116 Australia would begin
regular service to Sydney from London on August 10. Service in the Pacific has
been disrupted for nearly 3 years since the outbreak of the Great Pacific War
in 1944.
-“PanAm Restores Airship Service to Pacific,” The LA Times. April 4, 1947
The
airship industry experienced a real boom after the crash of President Hull’s
airplane in 1944. People were leery of flying on airplanes for years after that
crash. PanAm and ZGI siezed the opportunity that fate had handed them with both
hands. In 1945, ZGI introduced several “domestic” class airship designs to
service trans-USA flights. These airships were not the luxury layout designs of
previous airships, but more akin to airplanes, with seats for each passenger
arranged in rows. There were also lounges and a dinning hall. These new ships
could carry nearly twice as many passengers as the more luxurious models, which
of course traded carrying capactiy for passenger comfort. The
GZ-29 Spirit of the Heartland was the
first of these new ships, launched in the summer of 1945. By 1947, there were
10 Heartland class airship in service in the United States, and 4 in Germany.
By the end of 1955, there would be more of these type airships in service than
the more luxurious ships, as these were more affordable for the middle class to
use and therefore could attract more business.
In
1945, ZGI was contacted by a group of businessmen interested in using the
airship for bulk shipping across the US and from the US to Europe. The ZGI
technicians went to work, and in October 1946 they presented workable designs
for a cargo airship. On January 1, 1946, work began on the CZ-001 Goliath in Dallas, and the Aero Shipping
Company was incorperated two weeks later. On Augsust 1, the Goliath was launched from it’s hangar in
Texas and was deemed airworthy by the American authorities. By year’s end, the
CZ-002 Herculese would be in the air
as well, with 4 more Goliath class airships under construction. In 1947, the
army ordered four ships, and later that spring the British airship program
announced that they would be developing cargo ships as well. These developments
would ultimately save the airship building industry during the decline of
airship passenger service during the 1980s.
- Anderson, Dr. Alexander. The Airship: A Century of Sailing the Skies. New York: Colombia
University Press: 1989.
BATTLE IN PEKING
PEKING, JULY 21- Fighting has erupted in the Chinese capital
between members of the Chinese nationalists and the Chinese communists. This is
believed to be a result of the newly assembled Provisional Government, which
voted last week to establish a national assembly to deal with the drafting of a
constitution for China. The communist say that the PG will rig the elections
against the Communists, and are calling for the Chinese to rise up in
Revolution.
There
have been isolated risings in some parts of the countryside, but the main
fighting is centered in Peking, where several districts of the city are under Red
control. The Americans are attempting to put down the fighting, saying that
this rising is “going against the duly constituted authority of the Chinese
Provisional Government, and must be put down to restore order within China.”
President
Rogers in Washington stated that, “to be able to bring true stability to the
region after years of fighting with the Japanese, China must be brought under a
single, stable government. These Red rabble rousers must be stopped.” The US
War and State Departments have both echoed the President’s sentiments.
The
British War ministry is considering sending troops into northern China to
assist the Americans, but as of yet, no action has been taken, other than
increasing the number of troops in Hong Kong.
-“Battle in Peking,” The
Times (London), July 22, 1947.
August 3, 1947- We’ve
got to do something about China, and fast. The Republicans are gaining a lot of
support with the “Bring the Troops Home” campaign they’ve launched. And you
know what, I can’t find one reason to blame the American people for liking the
idea. Our war in Asia is over. We don’t need to be fighting somebody else’s
civil war. Yes I don’t like the Reds. But they are fairly weak, and are
starting to splinter into factions. Most military experts in the region,
American and British, agree that there are really 3 Red Armies in China. One in
the South, and two in the North (one of which is pro-Russia, one of which is
not).
We’ve
been kicking around several ideas at Cabinet meetings, and I believe we have
come up with a solution. We are going to gradually phase out our presence in
China over the next year. What we will be doing is training the army of the
Provisional Government (which the Communists have pulled out of), and will
continue to supply them with weapons after we are gone. I’ve also spoken with
the British, and they are going to station troops in Peking and Shanghi, and
help handle security with the Chinese for an additional year. By 1950, China
will be on her own, and hopefully on her own two feet and free from the Red
threat.
Speaking
of the “Red Threat”, I received a letter forwarded to me from the State
Department from our Ambassador to the German Empire. Apparently, the Germans
are getting information from Poland pointing to increased support for the local
communist party from the USSR, and they fear some sort of Red uprising could
occur in Warsaw sometime soon.
-Personal Diary of President Will Rogers, “Personal
Documents of President Rogers, from the Hull Presidency,” The Will Rogers
Presidential Library, Claremont, OK.
ROGERS TO PULL TROOPS FROM CHINA
WASHINGTON, AUG 25- President Rogers told Congress yesterday
that all American peacekeeping troops would be home from China and Asia by
Summer of 1948, and that the first phase of withdrawl would begin in October of
this year. This comes as a direct response to Republican critics who have been
clamouring for a return of the troops from the Asian theater ever since the war
with Japan ended last year.
The
president addressed Congress that “this administration has given Victory to the
American People. Now it is time to bring forth a return to Peace and
Prospertiy. America, our boys will soon be coming home. We will assist China in
rebuilding where we can, but we cannot and will not fight their civil war for
them. We can aid them, we can teach them, but we cannot fight for them.” This
message was met with a standing ovation from members of the Congress that had
gathered at the White House for the President’s announcement.
-“Rogers to Pull Troops from China,” The New York Times, August 25, 1947.
TRAGEDY AT NY AERODROME
NEW YORK CITY, SEP 30- During a horrendous thunderstorm that
struck the New York City last night, 4 airplanes crashed at the New York City
Aerodrome, which experts are describing as the worst aerial related disaster in
civilian flight history. Two planes were forced down after being struck by
lightening and having their equipment shorted out. The other two airplanes
crashed when a flight coming in from Washington attempted to land on the same
runway that another flight was taking off from, creating a head on collision
that killed all but 25 people from both craft. So far, the death toll is
nearing 100 people. Due to the tragedy, NYC Aerodrome officials have temporary
closed the facility. Officials from PanAm, however, made it known that the
nereby New York Air Harbor was still open for business.
- “Tragedy at NY Aerodrom,” The Washington Post, September 30, 1947.
When
President Rogers announced his intentions to pull American troops from China,
the Chinese Nationalists moved fast to secure their power. They went out to all
the major cities, and to some degree in the coutnry side, to campaign for the
National Assembly election. When the votes were cast in November, the
Nationalists held a strong majority. By then, the Northern and Southern
Communists had split, and it looked as though the Northern Communists would
split over whether or not to receive support from Russia (eventually, those
against Russian aid won, and the northerners stayed together).
On
May 1, the National Assembly announced that the Constintution of the Federal
Republic of China had been approved, and that elections would be held in July.
The result of those elections put Chang Kai’sheck into the office of Chinese
President, and his nationalists firmly in control of the unicameral Chinese
Senate. The new government, who’s army had been training with the Americans and
the British since the end of the war with Japan, promised to rid China of the
communist threat by the beginning of 1950. And they did, with some British
aide. By the end of 1949, the Northern Communists had been soundly defeated,
and in 1952, the southerners surrendered to the Federalist Army.
- Sheetz, Dr. Angela. History
of China, 1890-1990. New York: Colombia University Press, 1990.
MARXISTS BOMB WARSAW
WARSAW, MAR 14- Polish authorities have confirmed that radical
marxists have bombed the Parliament Hall in Warsaw. The group, a far left wing
of the Polish Communist Party called the Polish Liberation Force, snuck a bomb
in to the building with a shipment of office supplies. Thankfully for the
Polish government, it detonated prematurely while still in the storage
facility, minimizing fatalites. 16 people have been confirmed killed, along
with another 34 injured.
The
Communist Party in Poland has been rising in popularity as of late, and gained
many seats in the last parliamentary election.
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