POST WAR EUROPE AND THE RISE OF TOTALITARIANISM

Great Britain:

1. Many world War I veterans faced unemployment.

2. 1920's Economic Problems -- Britain depended on trade for its prosperity.

a. About 40% of the British Merchant Fleet had been destroyed during the war.

b. The United States and Japan entered overseas markets traditionally controlled by Britain.

c. Many nations imposed High Tariffs to protect domestic industries.

3. British Technology:

a. Equipment had become outdated and was in need of replacement.

b. British steel and ship building industries were severely hurt.

4. Result - Unemployment:

a. 1920: 700,000

1921: over two million (ie. almost a quarter of the work force.)

b. Resulting in Labor Unrest:

1. 1926: Coal miners went out on strike and called for a general strike (a mass walk out of unionized workers in all industries).

2. Troops and non-union workers provided vital services.

c. The strike failed and caused anti-labor legislation to be passed.

5. Billions of dollars had been borrowed from the United States during the war.

* Difficult to repay.

* loss of trade.

* Germany's inability to make payment of reparations owed to Britain.

France:

1. Devastation of the War:

* 10 million acres of farmland destroyed.

* 20,000 factories destroyed.

* 6,000 public buildings destroyed.

2. The French Government began a Program of Reconstruction.

* This program kept French unemployment relatively low during the 1920's.

3. Inflation:

a. France's war debt and borrowing to pay for reconstruction contributed to inflation.

b. 1926: The government headed by Raymond Poincare stabilized the economy by reducing expenses and raising taxes.

4. Military Expenditures:

a. France had been invaded by Germany (twice) in 1870 and 1914.

b. The Maginot Line: a system of fortifications was constructed along the French border with Germany and Luxembourg.

Germany:

1. THE VERSAILLES TREATY required Germany to pay war reparations that eventually totaled $33 Billion.

2. The government attempted to pay these debts through borrowing money and by printing more money -- Inflation.

a. 1923: worst year of inflation.

* 100 Billion Marks were needed to buy a newspaper, one trillion marks equaled 25 cents.

* In 1913: one mark had been worth 25 cents.

b. The government attempted to ease the situation by calling a temporary halt to the payment of reparations.

3. Early 1923:

a. French troops occupied the Ruhr Valley -- with the intention to collect reparations from German steel mills and coal mines.

b. Passive Resistance (non violent opposition): Ruhr workers refused to work. Workers in other parts of Germany began to support the Ruhr workers -- intensifying the problem of inflation.

4. The Dawes Plan of 1924: In Response to the German Crisis.

a. An International Commission was formed headed by an American banker, Charles Dawes.

b. Germany agreed to resume reparation payments, but at a reduced scale.

* The United States also promised to provide loans to help Germany rebuild its economy.

* French troops were withdrawn from the Ruhr in 1925.

The United States: Post War Isolationism

1. Woodrow Wilson attempted to gain approval of the Versailles Treaty and American participation in the League of Nations.

November 1919 - the U.S. Senate: rejected the Versailles Treaty fearing that participation in the League of Nations would involve the United States in future European Conflicts.

2. The Red Scare:

a. The Bolshevik Revolution led Lenin by in Russia (November 1917) strengthen isolationist feelings.

b. 1919 and 1920: bombings in several U.S. cities were blamed on Bolsheviks who were feared to be attempting a revolution in the United States.

3. Immigration Policy Changed:

a. The U.S. restricted the number of immigrants allowed from China and Japan, but not Europe.

b. 1921 and 1924: Congress passed quota acts limiting the number of European Immigrants.

4. Economic Conditions After World War I:

a. 1921: Warren G. Harding promised a return to Normalcy (withdrawal from foreign involvement and a return to a healthy peace time economy).

b. Unemployment:

1921: 11.7 percent

1923: 2.4 percent (it never exceeded 5% throughout the rest of the decade.)

c. Farming:

1. During the War, American Farmers had markets for their crops especially in Europe (increased production).

2. Post War: demand decreased with the resumption of farming in Europe. Prices decreased because of crop surpluses.

5. 1929: The Stock Market Crash (The Great Depression)

a. Late 1920's: stock market prices were artificially high. 1929: prices fell causing investors to sell (October).

b. By November 1929: the value of stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange had fallen by about $30 Billion.

c. The Great Depression: a period of slow business activity, high unemployment, and falling prices.

By 1932: 85,000 American businesses had failed.

d. Unemployment:

1929: 3.2%

1932: 23.6%

Banks - many closed because of loans made to foreign countries and American businesses, and they were not able to cover their deposits.

Unemployment remained high until the outbreak of war in 1939 -- depression in the U.S. led to a world wide depression.

TOTALITARIANISM (Characteristics):

1. A system in which the government controls almost every aspect of an individual's life.

2. Dictator: an individual who holds almost absolute power over the country.

3. Relies on political and economic ideologies to answer problems facing a nation.

4. Dictatorships allowed to be established when the people believe that their problems cannot be solved in any other way.

a. It is a denial of democratic ideals.

b. People exist for the welfare of the state which must be served-- rights of the individual are secondary.

5. In a Democracy: the government is the servant of the people and exists for their welfare.

6. Police State: use of armed forces and police to control and destroy opposition.

7. Censorship: public opposition is prohibited and the public is only told what the government wants them to hear.

8. Forms After World War I:

Communism and Fascism

* Both Totalitarian states but opposed to one another.

9. Communism:

a. Seeks international revolution.

b. Appeals to the working class and peasants.

c. Promises a classless society.

d. Based on a socialist economy.

e. Promises eventual abolition of governmental control (Pure Communism).

* Anti- Fascist

10. Fascism:

a. Extremely nationalistic and sometimes racist.

b. Appeals to the middle and upper classes.

c. Promises to preserve the existing class structure.

d. Based on a capitalist economy.

e. Intends for governmental control to be permanent.

* Anti-Communist

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION:

1. Underlying Causes:

a. Political: wanted an end to absolutism; workers and the middle class wanted a voice in the government.

b. Economic:

1. Peasants' desire for land reform.

2. 1914: only 1 1/2% of the Russian People were industrial workers.

3. Both industrial and agricultural development war far behind Western Europe.

c. Social: subject nationalities wanted an end to discrimination and Russification.

d. Military Weakness:

1. Failure of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

2. World War I: further showed the weakness of the government.

2. Immediate Causes:

a. The Battlefront - the army was poorly supplied and led.

b. 1.7 million had been killed in three years of fighting.

5 million had been wounded or crippled.

2 million had been taken prisoner.

c. The Homefront - factories were unable to satisfy military and civilian needs. Cities faced food shortages and inflation.

3. Spring of 1917:

a. Strikes and demonstrations broke out in Petrograd.

b. Soldiers refused to fire upon striking workers.

c. The Duma demanded governmental reform and Nicholas II ordered it dissolved.

d. The Duma refused to disband, and Nicholas II realizing his authority was gone abdicated on March 15, 1917.

4. Provisional Government:

a. Headed by the liberal democratic Prince George Lvov and later by the moderate socialist Alexander Kerensky.

b. Guaranteed civil liberties, freed political prisoners, and sought the establishment of a democratic republic.

c. Problems:

1. Insisted on continuing the war effort.

2. Unable to provide the cities with food.

3. Refused to approve land reform demanded by Russian Peasants.

5. Bolsheviks and Menesheviks:

a. Petrograd Soviet organized when disorders began in Russia.

b. Majority were Mensheviks, moderate socialists.

c. Minority were Bolsheviks, radical socialists -- most of the prominent Bolsheviks had been exiled after the Revolution of 1905.

6. Similar Soviets were established throughout Russia.

a. Called for immediate peace with the Central Powers.

b. Land Reform for the peasants.

c. Turning over of the factories to the workers.

7. Nikolai Lenin:

a. Leader of the Bolsheviks returned to Russia on April 16, 1917 from exile in Switzerland.

b. The German government allowed Lenin, Leon Trotsky and some of their followers to pass through Germany.

German Purpose: The Bolsheviks promise of taking Russia out of the war.

c. Lenin insisted that all governmental power be turned over to the Soviets.

d. Modified Marxism:

1. Russia had little industry and the Russian proletariat was very small.

2. Lenin advocated the use of a small group of dedicated Marxists to manipulate events in order to bring about pure communism.

e. Land, Peace, and Bread: pledge of the Bolsheviks which had become very popular in 1917.

f. The Congress of Soviets: June 1917

1. The Mensheviks still outnumbered the Bolsheviks.

2. The Congress appointed an Executive Central Committee to speak for all the soviets.

3. By September: the Bolsheviks had gained control of the Executive Central Committee.

g. The Bolshevik Revolution:

1. November 7, 1917: the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government.

2. The Bolsheviks renamed themselves the Communist Party.

3. Alexander Kerensky was forced to flee the country.

4. Other members of the Kerensky government were arrested.

5. The new government was led by Premier Lenin and War Minister Trotsky.

h. To gain Popular Support:

1. Signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk taking Russia out of the war.

2. Russia lost Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russian Poland, and the Ukraine.

3. Industry was nationalized.

4. Seizure of noble's land which was then nationalized.

The Civil War:

1. Opposition: former aristocrats, middle class liberals, and Mensheviks.

* White Russians

2. The Communists adopted the color of European revolutionary socialism:

* Red Russians

3. The Civil War began in December of 1917 and lasted almost three years.

4. Doctrine of World Revolution: Marxist belief that revolution had to be world wide if it was going to succeed anywhere.

5. Allies aided the White Russians fearing the spread of revolution.

a. 1917: the Japanese seized Vladivostok.

b. 1918: French and British troops landed at Murmansk and seized Archangel.

c. 1918: American troops landed in Siberia.

d. Foreign Intervention: only prolonged the Civil War, and eventually all foreign troops withdrew.

6. By 1921: the White Russians had been defeated and the Communists were in complete control of Russia.

Communists in Control:

1. The Capital was moved from Petrograd to Moscow.

2. The Kremlin: seat of governmental power, a walled fortress built by Ivan the Terrible.

3. Cabinet, the Council of the People's Commissars headed by Lenin was formed.

4. National Congress: The Supreme Soviet

a. Representatives from all the Soviets.

b. Officially it was the sovereign legislative body of the nation.

c. Real power rested with the People's Commisars.

5. 1922: Russia was renamed the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics.

a. A federal union of 15 Republics.

b. Bound together by a Constitution with powers shared with the National government.

6. The Red Terror:

a. 1918: the Czar and his family had been executed.

b. Many nobles and members of the middle class were also executed.

7. Economic Crisis:

a. Agriculture had declined to a level that farming peasants could barely produce enough for themselves.

b. Only 13% of prewar Industrial factories were in operation.

8. War Communism: 1918-1921

a. Agricultural and Industrial goods were distributed on a basis of need.

b. Primary Need was the Red Army. The government's concern was to save the Revolution.

9. The New Economic Policy:

a. NEP - the system allowed some free enterprise in order to stimulate Russia's economy.

b. Permitted individuals to buy, sell, and trade farm products.

c. Small businesses and home industries could be privately owned and operated for profit.

d. Foreign capital investment was sought with the promise of a high rate of interest in return.

e. Skilled foreign technicians were offered high salaries.

f. Major industries remained under government ownership and management.

Joseph Stalin:

1. Lenin died in 1924 -- leading to a power struggle within the Communist Party.

2. The two leading candidates were Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky.

3. Leon Trotsky:

a. He played an important role in the Bolshevik Revolution.

b. He had organized and created the Red Army which preserved the Communist Regime during the Civil War.

4. Stalin had risen to the position of Secretary General of the Communist Party.

5. Issue in Dispute:

a. Trotsky believed in the Marxist Doctrine of World Revolution.

b. Stalin believed that once socialism had been successful in Russia it would spread to the rest of the world.

6. By 1928 - Stalin was firmly in power (ie. control of the Communist Party).

7. In 1929 Trotsky was forced to go into exile, and in 1940 he was assassinated in Mexico.

8. In 1928 Stalin announced the end of the NEP ------------ he wanted a totally planned economy for Russia.

The Five Year Plans

1. 1928: the first five year plan -- a master plan for economic growth.

a. Plans for industrial and agricultural development.

b. Plans to expand the educational system, to build more hospitals and more housing.

2. Heavy Industries were expanded at the expense of consumer goods.

a. Stalin: Russian had to make great sacrifices in their personal lives to ensure progress in Russia.

b. He used fear of renewed intervention by Western Nations.

3. Hope that collective farming with modern machines would produce enough food for the nation with a surplus for export.

4. Industrial development depended on a rapid increase of farm production.

a. All farms were merged into collectives.

b. Hundred of thousands - farming peasants were executed who opposed this program.

5. First Five Year Plan

a. 70% of the best farm land was formed into collectives.

b. Industrial Production increased - however, the quality of goods was often poor.

c. There were still not enough railroads.

d. Shortages of grain, oil, and timber still existed.

6. Second Five Year Plan: 1933

a. The program called for an increase in heavy industry.

b. Production of consumer goods was also increased.

c. 1933: Hitler came to power in Germany and the consumer goods program was modified.

1936: Stalin canceled the consumer goods program to increase military production.

Russia: A Police State

1. The state did not disappear as Marx had predicted, but was maintained by force.

2. Stalin described it as a socialist dictatorship of the proletariat.

3. Stalin used secret police and spies to maintain his authority.

4. The Orthodox Church had been disestablished and church property had been seized.

5. Religious Worship was discouraged, and atheism was taught in the schools.

6. The Party Line: the policy of the Communist Party could not be opposed.

7. Membership in the Communist Party was restricted.

a. About 2 1/2 million out of 200 million citizens.

b. Late 1970's: about 15 million - 6% of the total population.

c. Best positions in government and industry went to party members.

8. 1936: Stalin proclaimed a new constitution.

a. Supreme Soviet - legislature which meets only twice a year.

b. Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.

1. Elected by the Supreme soviet and acted for it when it was not in session.

2. President: ceremonial head of state and chairman of the Presidium.

c. Council of Ministers

1. Executive and administrative authority.

2. Elected the Premier, head of the Russian government.

9. The Communist Party: Paralleled the Government

a. National Party Congress

1. Local party representatives.

2. Elected the Central committee.

b. The Central Committee

1. Authority delegated to it by the Party Congress.

2. Elected the Politburo and the Secretariat.

c. Politburo

1. Policy making body of the Communist Party.

2. Elected the First Secretary (General) of the Communist Party.

d. Secretariat: directed the work of the Communist Party and membership to it.

10. 1934: Stalin began a purge of party membership believed to be disloyal to him.

1938: Eight million person had been arrested.

The Comintern

1. Third or Communist International founded by Lenin in 1919.

2. Purpose: to spread revolution throughout the world.

3. The Comintern continued to agitate for the overthrow of governments in capitalist democracies.

4. Communist Parties in other countries looked to Moscow for leadership.

5. The Comintern created friction and hostility with other countries because of the threat of revolution.

6. By the Mid 1930's: a status quo between the Soviet Union and Western Democracies had developed.

Italy: Conditions After World War I

1. Resentment over not having received a larger share of the peace settlement.

2. Poor nation with a large population.

3. Suffered from inflation, unemeployment, and food shortages.

4. Constitutional Monarchy:

* Coalition government -- helpless to deal with the problems in Italy.

Benito Mussolini: 1883-1945

1. Need for strong leadership after World War I -- Mussolini offered positive action.

2. 1912: he became the editor of the Socialist Newspaper, Avanti (Forward).

3. 1914: World War I

a. The Socialist Party advocated Italian neutrality during the war.

b. Mussolini - advocated entrance into the war on the side of the Allies.

c. The Avanti was taken out of his hands and he was expelled from the Socialist Party.

d. Mussolini founded another newspaper, Popolo d' Italia (People of Italy).

1. Agitated for Italy's entrance into the war.

2. Financed by Britain and France.

4. After the War:

a. He formed the Fascist Party.

* The Fasces - symbol of Ancient Roman Authority.

b. Organized groups called Fasci to attract former socialists and war veterans.

c. Anti-Socialist and Anti-Communist.

d. Mussolini's Definition: "the dictatorship of the state over many classes cooperating."

e. Squqadristi:

1. Used to break up strikes and political meetings.

2. Drove socialist leaders from office.

3. Violence: "justified because the government could not defend the nation from left wing socialists."

f. Adopted a Black Shirt as their uniform.

5. The Italian Government: 1919-1922

a. 1919 Election: socialists gained control of the government.

ie. unemployment and inflation.

b. Landowners and Industrialist gave their support to the Fascists-- fear of the Socialists.

c. 1921 Election: Liberal and Democratic Parties gained control of the government.

1. Coalition Government.

2. Fascists won 35 seats.

3. Majority parties were unable to bring about economic recovery.

d. 1922: Weakness of the government led to violence throughout the country.

6. October 1922: March on Rome

a. 50,000 Fascists with the intent to take over the government.

b. The government insisted the king declare Martial Law.

c. Victor Emmanuel III on the advice of the army refused to declare Marital Law.

d. October 31st: the king appointed Mussolini as the Premier.

e. Dictatorial powers were given to Mussolini to restore order. These powers were suppose to end on December 31, 1923 (one year).

7. May 1923: a new electoral law gave the leading party an automatic 2/3 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

8. 1924: New Elections.

a. Fascist Victory.

b. The Chamber of Deputies voted "decree powers" to Mussolini.

c. He took the title of il Duce --- the leader.

9. The Fascist Dictatorship

a. Grand Council of the Fascist Party

1. Headed by Mussolini with 20 other leading Fascists.

2. 1928: it gained the power to nominate the head of the government.

3. The Party became the official organ (instrument) of the state.

4. Candidates for the Senate and Chamber of Deputies were chosen by the Council.

b. Labor Unions were replaced by government controlled Trade Unions -- strikes were outlawed.

c. 1926: all local offices became appointed rather than elected.

10. The Lateran Treaty: 1929

a. Negotiated with the Roman Catholic Church.

b. Vatican City, 108 acres in Rome, was created as an independent state.

c. The Catholic Church was recognized as the State Church of Italy.

d. Payment of 91 million dollars for loss of the Papal States in the 19th Century.

The Corporate State

1. Parliament: representation of the people from specific regions was outmoded for an industrial society.

2. Representation should be based on occupation and profession.

3. Syndicates: Principal Economic Activities.

a. By 1930: there were 22 syndicates.

b. Representatives of management, labor, and government met to establish wages, prices and working conditions.

c. Syndicates were controlled by the Ministry of corporations headed by Mussolini.

d. Strikes wee forbidden -- Labor and Management were both subject to the will of the state.

e. Purpose: all parts of the society were forced to cooperate with one another for the welfare of the nation.

4. Unemployment was reduced, and both industry and agriculture did improve.

5. The Government began a program of Public Works.

6. Education:

a. School attendance became compulsory to the age of fourteen.

b. 1913: 40% of the population was illiterate.

c. By 1939: illiteracy was reduced to 25%.

7. Arms Build Up: glorification of war (militarism).

8. Problems:

a. Mussolini's Programs were a constant drain on the treasury.

b. Low standard of living went down even further.

c. Large Population -- not enough food and a lack of natural resources.

ALTERNATIVES ????????????????????????????????????????

THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC

1. November 9, 1918: a Republic was proclaimed by the German Social Democratic Party (SPD).

a. The SPD did not attempt to introduce a socialist program, although it was a Marxist Party.

b. The party adopted the slogan: "peace, security, and order".

c. The SPD limited themselves into summoning a constituent assembly to write a constitution for a liberal democratic republic.

* opposition from the extreme left and right.

2. In December: the German Communist Party (KPD) was formed.

a. Communist demonstrations brought about reprisals by the army and the Freikorps (a right wing volunteer force of discharged soldiers).

b. The socialists (SPD) attempted to continue governing the country.

* sought the support of the army to gain protection against left wing extremists.

* they strengthened the position of the right wing by giving up fundamental social change for this protection.

3. January Elections failed to give the SPD a majority.

* a coalition government of Centrists, Socialists, and Democrats who drafted a constitution at Weimar and signed the Treaty of Versailles.

Germany: became a federal republic.

a. Two House Parliament.

1. Reichsrat - upper house representing the 17 states of the Republic.

2. Reichstag - lower house represented by a proportional basis.

b. President - elected by universal manhood suffrage.

c. Chancellor (or Prime Minister) appointed by the President.

Article 48: emergency Presidential power to legislate by decree. "to take suchmeasures as are necessary to restore public safety and order".

4. Unpopular -- signed the Versailles Treaty and became known as the "November Criminals".

5. 1923: the Ruhr Crisis -- French occupation and suffering from passive resistance further strengthened right-wing support.

6. The Munich Putsch: November 1923

a. Ultimate goal was the seizure of the Berlin government, but the Munich government must be taken first.

b. Attempted by the National Socialist German Workingman's Party (headed by Adolf Hitler) along with the support of General Erich von Ludendorff.

* failure: Hitler and Ludendorff were put on trial for treason.

1. Ludendorff was acquitted.

2. Hitler received five years but served only nine months.

* During his imprisonment, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle), describing his program for national and world supremacy.

* Lebensraum (living space) - used as a justification for German expansion into Eastern Europe.

National Socialism and Adolf Hitler

1. The German Worker's Party was one of many racist-militarist groups founded in Germany after the War.

1920: The name was changed to National Socialist German Worker's Parry -- to broaden its appeal.

2. Adolf Hitler

a. Born in 1889 the son of a minor customs official in Austria.

b. 1908: moved to Vienna hoping to become an architect or artist.

c. Failure: began reading racist and fascist literature becoming more anti- Semitic/creating a scape-goat for his own failure.

d. Served in the Germany Army in France during World War I.

3. Post World War I

a. 1919: Hitler was hired by the Army to investigate the German worker's Party which he joined and soon assumed a position of leadership.

b. Hitler brought to the party the belief that the effective use of propaganda and oratory would bring results.

c. Hitler also made use of the Sturmabteilungen (SA), the private army of the National Socialists.

d. The failure of the 1923 Munich Putsch convinced Hitler that he would have to take power by legal means.

4. Recovery and Relative Prosperity: latter half of the 1920's.

a. A government under the leadership of Gustav Stresemann followed a program of practical cooperation with the victorious powers.

b. The 1924 Dawes Plan and $200 million in foreign loans -- the restoration of German Prosperity was closely tied to the willingness of American Investors to continue to lend money.

c. 1925: Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg was elected President.

* It was believed, at first, to be a victory for the Right Wing, but he supported Parliamentary government for the rest of the decade.

d. The death of Stressemann in October of 1929 along with the Depression made the formation of a workable moderate coalition government difficult.

5. Unemployment:

1929: 1.4 million

1930: 3.1 million

6. Decline (erosion) of Parliamentary Government:

a. May 1928 - t he Social Democrats took over the government under Chancellor, Hermann Muller.

1. Attempted to deal with declining production and rising unemployment by -- balancing the budget and cutting down on social benefits.

2. He lost the support of his own party.

b. March: a new government under Heinrich Brunning, leader of the Center Party.

* lack of a majority in the Reichstag and thus persuaded the President to use Article 48.

* he refused de-valuation of the Mark causing unemployment to rise.

c. September 1930: Reichstag elections -- National socialists polled 6.4 million votes electing 107 delegates.

d. 1932: unemployment had risen to six million.

* May - Brunning was replaced by Franz von Papen (Catholic Aristocrat).

e. Elections: November 1932 showed a decline in National Socialist strength and a shift from moderate socialists to the Communists.

* von Papen's government was succeeded in December by a new right wing party under General Kurt von Schleicher. (it lasted less than two months).

* von Papen with the consent of the army and some business elements persuaded the President to offer the chancellorship to Adolf Hitler on January 30, 1933.

7. Adolf Hitler: Extension of Power

a. Hitler called for new Parliamentary Elections for March 5, 1933.

1. February 27th: the Reichstag building was burned allegedly by the Communists.

2. February 28th: the Reichstag passed a "Decree for the Protection of the People and the State" suspending civil and personal liberties.

3. National socialists gained 44% of the votes -- together with 8% polled by the Nationalists (allies) Hitler had an absolute majority.

b. March 23rd: through intimidation by the SA, the Reichstag passed an Enabling Law giving Hitler the right to legislate by decree (for four years).

1933: Germany left the League of Nations.

August 2, 1934: Hindenburg died and Hitler assumed the power of both President and Chancellor under the title of Der Fuhrer (the leader), and the army swore an oath of personal loyalty to him.

1935: local government was abolished. Conscription was reintroduced.

1936: The Germany army marched into the Rhineland.

The Rome-Berlin Axis was formed.

Japan: Growth of Militarism

1. Industrialized: needed foreign markets and a source of raw materials.

2. Densely Populated -- need for expansion.

3. Paris 1919:

a. Gained control over German concessions in the Shantung Peninsula.

b. Mandates: Marshall, Caroline, and Marianna islands (a need and desire for more territory existed).

4. 1920's: voluntarily returned the Shantung Peninsula to China.

5. Liberal Movement:

a. 1925: Universal Manhood Suffrage was introduced.

b. Japanese Diet (limited power).

c. Emperor remained an absolute ruler.

d. Cabinet: responsible to the emperor and ruled in his name.

e. Constitution of 1889:

1. Required representatives of the Army and Navy on the Cabinet.

2. A government could not be formed without their approval.

f. Almost no civilian control over the military.

6. Economic Problems: 1920's

a. China set high tariffs (attempting to industrialize).

b. Immigration Restricted to the U.S.

* 1924: The U.S. stopped Japanese immigration.

c. 1929: World Wide Depression.

7. Military Leaders: urged the use of force to solve problems.

a. Expansion: Manchuria and mandated islands.

b. Monroe Doctrine of Asia: Japanese control of the Far East.

8. 1930: Prime Minister Yuko Hamaguchi

a. Assassinated leading to political disorders.

b. Within two years the militarists were in control of the government.

Invasion of Manchuria

1. September 1931: an explosion in Mudken, Manchuria damaged a Japanese railroad.

2. Japanese troops occupied Mudken in response to this incident.

3. China appealed to the League of Nations.

Japanese Claim: it was a local matter, not a war - only suppressing bandits.

The Japanese referred to it as: "The China Incident".

4. The League sent a Commission under Lord Lytton of Britain to investigate the situation.

5. Continued Conquest: 1932

a. Japan declared Manchuria to be an independent nation (Manchukuo).

b. Puppet Ruler: the former Manchu emperor of China.

6. The Lytton Commission: after Nine Months

a. Manchukuo should not be recognized.

b. Manchuria should be restored to China.

c. Only Japan voted against it, and then left the League in 1933.

d. Nations such as Britain and France condemned the aggression, but would not take any further action like economic sanctions.

PROBLEMS: Post World War I -- by the 1930's.

1. Western Democracies wanted to preserve the status quo.

2. Totalitarian Dictatorships wanted change; dissatisfied with the peace settlement in 1919.

3. The League of Nations

a. The United States had never joined it.

b. Russia was not admitted until 1934.

c. Basic Problem: it could only make recommendations.

Question - peace keeping measures - how could they be enforced.

d. Major nations held conferences outside the League.

The Washington Naval Conference: 1921 and 1922

1. The Five Power Treaty

a. Russia was excluded from participation.

b. Ten year naval holiday ------ no war ships were to be built.

c. Ration of Naval Strength

1. Equalize U.S. and Britain.

2. Japan: 3/5 of their tonnage.

3. France and Italy: 1.67 of their tonnage.

2. The Nine Power Treaty: agreed to take no further territory from China and to maintain the Open Door Policy.

ie. Japan's return of the Shantung Peninsula.

Paris 1928: The Kellogg-Briand Pact

1. Frank B. Kellogg, Secretary of State (United States).

2. Aristide Briand - French Foreign Minister.

* Condemned War as a means to settle international disputes.

3. Eventually 60 nations signed the agreement.

QUESTION: What could be done to prevent further aggression and maintain peace during the 1930's.