3. Why did the First United Front fail?

Activity 1 - How did the United Front help?

Activity Tasks

Select - Examine the following statement: “The CCP benefitted more than the GMD from the United Front”
Justify - Your task is to create a justification for the statement. You need to develop an argument, based on reasoning which provides support for the statement. You could include:
1. Evidence - information from the past, things which you know are facts and concepts which historians use
2. Examples - specific cases which illustrate a point, or why what you are saying is true
3. Reasons - reasons why the statement is true and why we should believe the statement
Present - The winners are the group that presents the most powerful arguments!

Activity Tasks

Select - Download and cut out these cause cards. Each card identifies a cause of the Shanghai Massacre.
Sort - Examine the cause cards and arrange them into three piles: preconditions, catalysts, and triggers.
Link - Are any of the cause cards linked? Try to identify and explain at least three links between the causes.
Rank - Now rearrange and rank the cards in order of importance, from most causally important to least.
Discuss - Share your ranking with the class. What were the main causes of the massacre?

Activity Tasks

Research - With a partner, research what happened during the Shanghai Massacre. Make a bullet point list of at least ten facts about the massacre as it unfolded in April 1927. Use the internet or some of the following sources to help you research:
1. Fenby, J. (2008). Modern China: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power, pp. 157-182
2. Hsu, I.C.Y. (2000). The Rise of Modern China, pp. 523-531
3. Spence, J.D.(1990). The Search for Modern China, pp. 348-360
4. Taylor, J. (2009). The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China, pp. 64-72
5. Zarrow, P. (2005). China in War and Revolution: 1895-1949, pp. 237-241
Debate - As a class, debate the following motion: ’The Shanghai Massacre showed that Jiang Jieshi was morally bankrupt.’

Activity Tasks

Select - Get into small groups or pairs. Each group has ten minutes to research one of the following consequences and events that followed the Shanghai Massacre:
1. The Ninghan Separation
2. The GMD/CCP Split
3. The White Terror across China
4. The Nanchang Uprising
5. The Autumn Harvest Uprising
6. The Guangzhou Uprising
Research - Conduct some brief research into your consequence. Make a list of at least five key points that you could make about your consequence.
Present - You now have 2-3 minutes to persuade the rest of the class that your consequence was the most significant consequence of the Shanghai Massacre.

Activity Tasks

Examine - Download and examine these perspective cards showing different viewpoints on the reasons for the split.
Sort - Sort the perspective cards into piles according to what they argue are the main reasons for the split.
Rank - Identify your top three reasons for the failure of the First United Front. Which authors/sources do you agree with the most?
Discuss - Which are the most compelling reasons for the failure of the First United Front? Which are the least?