Classwork Assignment 2

These two sources have some strong similarities and differences in the accounts on gas warfare. These two sources have some strong similarities and differences in the accounts on gas warfare. These two sources have some strong similarities and differences in the accounts on gas warfare. These two sources have some strong similarities and differences in the accounts on gas warfare. These two sources have some strong similarities and differences in the accounts on gas warfare. These two sources have some strong similarities and differences in the accounts on gas warfare. These two sources have some strong similarities and differences in the accounts on gas warfare. 

2)

Classwork Assignment 3

Source A

Woodrow Wilson had often spoken about "peace without victory". Is this reflected in the document? What may have caused him to change his mind?

This document reflects Wilson's idea of 'peace without victory'. The document quotes Wilson's point that there should be no discrimination against any country, and to make every part of the treaty just and without any favorites. What probably made him change his mind was the extreme viewpoints from Lloyd George and Clemenceau, who wanted Germany to be punished severely.

Source B

Why could British aims be seen as moderate?

Lloyd George's aims can be seen as moderate because he was looking more for a peace of reconciliation, rather than revenge. France had much more severe punishment in mind, like the reparations and the war guilt clause. Britain wanted to try the Kaiser on his own and punish him, not the country.

Source C

Identify French aims at the Versailles Conference.

The French wanted to gain back from Germany what they lost in the war. They wanted to demand reparations to compensate for their losses. They also wanted to punish the losers enough so that they wouldn't start another world war. Clemenceau also wanted there to be a clause that Germany would have no army close to the French border.

How are these to be accomplished?

To gain back the money the French lost in the war they wanted to demand Germany to pay it back. As far as preventing another war they wanted to cripple Germany as a whole so they could never rise up and fight against the victors. To prevent Germany from attacking France again they demilitarized the Rhineland and force the German army back into the Reich.

Source D

Identify the aims of Japan and Italy.

In Class Assignment Four

War	Years	Type
World War I	1914-1918	Total War Guerilla
Russian Revolutionary Civil War	1917-1922	Civil War Total War (Communists)
Chinese Civil War	1927-1949	Civil War Guerilla Total War (Communists)
World War II	1931(1939)-1945	Total War
Iran-Iraq War	1980-1988	Total War Guerilla
Gulf War I	1990-1991	Limited War

OPVL - WWI Charts

With reference to origin and purpose, discuss the values and limitations of the charts for historians studying the causes of World War One.

These four charts are from the same source, a historical book written by Paul Kennedy in 1988. The book was published by Fontana Press in the United Kingdom. The charts were made and included in this book as a way to express the values of different military aspects. These charts are valuable because they provide specific numbers for the different things, including the number of naval and military personnel, the tonnage of warships, and then numbers for the industry of the different world powers. These charts have limitations, one of them being that there are no citations for where the numbers came from. These numbers provide a lot of valuable data and opportunities to compare and contrast the different world powers through the years, but without proper citation of where this information came from the reliability of them decreases.

Paper 1 - Five Year Plans

5.

(a) According to Source A the first Five Year Plan was a success. The first success was the change of the economic basis from private property to socialist property. Capitalist businesses were taken over to have the communist state get the final word. Heavy industry (steel, machines, etc) and Light Industry, as well as agriculture, were all increased. Annual targets were reached at "respectable rates of growth."

(b) In Stalin's pattern, Heavy Industry took a precedent over Light Industry and agriculture. His plan was to first increase the production of steel and machinery, then focus on on agricultural productions. Mao's five year plan did this as well, making heavy industry the first priority. Howver, unlike Stalin's result, Mao's five year plan did not end up neglecting the production of light industry nor agriculture.

6.

Sources B and C express very contrasting views towards people's communes. The Chinese Newspaper (Source B) expresses a view that supports them. The article suggests that the people's communes are making "bigger strides forward" to meet and do what they're meant to be doing. They have the support of the CCCP and of Mao. The article brings up the positive effects the communes are having in the country, with it's primary one being that "the last remains of individual ownership are being eliminated." This was a major ideological aim of the communist party and the article expresses it. However, Source C does not express the same views, nor does the author support the effects the communes are having. As opposed to the newspaper which had reported good things resulting from the communes, the survivor's account reports on the famine and deaths that occured because of them. She does however agree with the Newspaper's view, but only in the beginning year of the communes. More grain was produced in the first year, but by the second year there was nothing left. The author of Source C describes how village cadres took all the food the communes had, leaving them to starve and eventually die of hunger. Communal Canteens, according to source C, were not serving proper or enough food. Source B expresses that many were set up, but provides no indication of how effectively they were. Source B provides no indication or reports on deaths in the communes, where as source C states that more than half of the villagers died in 1960.

7.

Source D in an extract from a book titled "Mao: the Unknown Story," written by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday. It was published in London in the year 2005. This secondary source in a historical book reporting on the rise and rule of Mao; this excerpt specifically is describing Mao's first Five Year Plan. The purpose of this source appears to be to report on the negative effects of the first five year plans, such as the death count and the bad leadership Mao provided for his people. The value for studying this source is that it provides contrasting views towards Mao and the five year plans that are not often seen. The Unknown Story of Mao provides a unique look into Mao's leadership. It is clear that this source sheds light on to how Mao cared not for his people as he said he did. The source also is valuable because there are significant facts that show the effects of the first five year plan; these facts include the death count of 38,000,000 people dying between the years 1958 and 1961. A limitation of this source is that it provides no personal recollection or knowledge of the events taht took place during the first five year plans. Mao: the Unknown Story is a historical book that chronilogically describes Mao rise and rule. It was written after Mao's rule ended, and while this means that the author's had more time to gather facts and resources, they still lacked the personal primary source knowledge and benefits. There is also a bias against Mao in this source. It is a book published in the Western World (London) which had publicly known negative feelings about Communism.

Source E is a table that has the figures of China's Agricultural record between the years 1954  to 1962. The table was published in a source by Michael Lynch called "The People's Republic of China Since 1949" in 1998. It was published in London by Hodder Murray. This source was produced to provide a table that contains the specific figures for the Grain Production, Meat Production, and the Gross Agricultural Output Value in the years 1954-1962. This source is valuable for studying the first five year plans because it shows the increase of production prior to the plans, and then the decrease when the plans were introduced and set forth. There is no indication in this table of where the figues came from. The table does, however, provide numerical evidence supporting the fact that five year plans were unsuccessful.

8.

TBC.

Great Leap Forward Paper 1

5.
Source A details the amount of grain being grown and produced in 1962. The author, Deng Xioping, talks about the numbers from 1957 and the numbers for the year prior. He predicts that at least 145 tons of grain will be produced (like the prior year's) but does not expect to reach the highest in 1957 of 195 tons. He believes this because of the weather problems that have interfered with the growing of grain. Some places in China were suffering from droughts and others were suffering from severe flooding.

6.
Sources D and E express similiar views towards the great leap forward.








7.
Source A is an excerpt from a speech made by Deng Xiaoping in July of the year 1962. Xiaoping was the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist party at the time. His intended audience was to be those who attended the Seventh Plenary Session of the Third Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League. The source is a primary source and it's purpose was to detail Xiaoping's predictions on the total amount of the grain to be expected that year. He wished to seek a way to "restore grain production" to go back to the high point reached in 1957. This source is valuable for studying the great leap forward for two reasons. Xiaoping in his speech details the amount of grain grown prior to 1962 and predicts based on what he has seen that year the amount to be collected. Xiaoping's speech is also valuable because it specifically contrasts the grain collection before the Great Leap forward to what it was like during. It is limited because it doesn't list any good things that resulted from the Great Leap Forward, for instance the steel and iron production.

Source B is an extract from a scholarly work from JAG Roberts' book The Complete History of China. It was published in 2003 in the United Kingdom. The purpose of this secondary source, specifically this excerpt, was to provide an alternate view to the great leap forward and why it failed. The intended audience was most likely historians or students studying China and its history. This is a valuable source because it does provide a different view on the failures of the GLF. Rather than blaming the failure on faulty strategy, this author says that it was because of failures with its implementation. This source was also written years after the events took place, giving the author more access to sources to compile a 'great history'.

8.

Mao Movie Notes

• People thought they had a democracy during the 100 flowers campaign.
• Committee members were being criticized by the people.
• In June 1957 an article was posted calling those who spoke out criminals, taking away the people's freedom of speech. 
• Crimes included supporting Mao's own policy of 100 flowers. 
• People believed that the relationship between the party and the masses was worse ever since they were liberated.
• Families punished because of other member's crimes.
• 10% of the people were rightists. 10 per 100.
• "People's Communes are Good."
• People's communes sprang up almost over night. Each day on a commune was strictly regimented. Men and Women worked around the clock in fields and dining halls.
• Communes made steel to produce a better economy.
• 
  
• China was starting to become a rich and strong country because of the communes.
• People were unhappy, but no one could speak up about it.
• No one had the courage to oppose Mao due to the treatment of those who did.
• Three major party officials opposed him, but said nothing.
• Mao never made comments or gave his own feelings.

Cultural Revolution

• Practices included still killing landlords, and old practice that remained.
• People didn't like the cult of mao.
• Lin Bao head of Red Army - Trotsky.
• 
  

Chapter 6 "Long March" A+B

A.
1) the first army moved from their starting place to Xiang. Then they moved into Zunyi by splitting the army in half.
2)Instead of taking a straight route, the red army began to make their own path and did not begin taking a straight route.
3) the army was trying to go around blockades. a straight path would not have gotten around, therefore they were forced to make their own to secure a possible route of travel.
4) If they had not changed direction they would have been stopped and defeated before reaching their destination.

B.

1)
A. The statement in A I do not believe when it says they were  not defeated. The communists were left with next to nothing when the Long March started. Quote B I do agree with. The Red Army was not defeated by Chiang Kaishek though he tried hard to do so.
2)
I think that the first source is more accurate. The Red Army marched a long way and though suffered many losses, they deafeated the other army. This quote is accurate becaues it provides more of an evidenciary base.

Homework 1 - Causes of the Chinese Civil War

Long Term

1. One long term cause of the Chinese Civil war was the wars that broke out in Chine due to European and Japanese forces. Many Chinese people blamed the Manchus for allowing China to be overrun and controlled by Europeans. The Europeans had started wars in China over opium, a drug, and took ports and parts of China to control. A rebellion broke out in 1850 that the Manchus broke apart with the help of the Europeans. This made the Manchus more unpopular. This is a political and social cause.
   
   
2. Another Long Term cause was take over by Cixi, the Emperor Guangxu's aunt. At this time the Emperor was introducing new reforms to China, such as better schools and a higher government budget, but Cixi had the Emperor imprisoned and forced him to give her rule so she could put a stop to these reforms. The Empress also encouraged a group of people known as the boxers to fight against the Christians, whom the boxers believed were the reason for China's problems. This is a social cause.
   
   
3. A third long term cause of the civil war was the boxer rebellion. When the boxers began their rebellion, Eurpoean forces intervened out of anger. They forced the Manchus to pay a high amount of money and executed boxers on the streets of China. This showed another weakness in the Manchu dynasty. This is a social and economic cause.

Short Term Causes

1. 
   

Homework 2

One of the biggest practices seen in the Chinese Civil war is Guerilla Warfare. Mao had "Four Slogans" in regards to this practice. They were basially, retreat when the Nationalists attack, trouble the nationalists when they would halt or make camp, attack the Nationalists when they tried to avoid battle, and when the Nationalists retreated, attack.

In response to the Communist use of Guerilla Warfare, Chiang Kai-Shek set up his own practice. His was the Blockhouse Strategy. The response to the communist practice was to surround the Jiangxi Soviet with about 500,000 troups, slowly advance and set up concrete shelters, trenhes, and barbed fences. They starved the communists slowly, depleted them of food, fuel, and weapons. The communists lost 60,000 troops and over half their territory because of this practice.

In the Air, the nationalist had support from the US. The US provided the Chinese with air lifts, C-54 planes to fly their troops to Nanjing, Shanghai and Beijing.

The Communists also attacked major railways and destroyed communications throughout Northern China. This guerilla practice was seen in the Hundred Regiments battle and also in others throughout the war.

Homework 3

The communists had a huge support from the peasants. This is a major reason why the Communists defeated the Nationalists in the Civil War. There were rules of conduct set up that ensured that the peasants were treated fairly. Land was redistributed from the rich to the poor, further increasing the support given to the communists. Nationalists had many problems feeding their civilians, and made more efforts to helping the army then they did the peasants, thus many began to support the communists. The peasants were convined that communism would be beneficial for them, and this allowed Mao to secure his power and establish a strong government.

Though the Communists had weaknesses in it's army (they weren't able to defeat the Nationalists when fighting head on until the end of the war), they employed the use of Guerilla Warfare.

In Manchuria the Communists had secured a large amount of land. More land led to more power, and the more people to infet with their messages, thus more supporters. The extra land also allowed them to increase their army (so did the extra peasants) and build it up to make it strong.

Homework 5

Political Effect

Two new governments were set up as a result of the Chinese Civil war. Mao established the People's Republic of China which was communist. There was also the Republic of China, better known as Nationalist China, set up in Taiwan under the rule of Chaing Kai-Shek. The set up of the People's Republic of China did many things. First, it made China offiicially a single party state. Mao became China's ruler. And China became politically isolated in the west. However, an alliance was made with the USSR because both countries were communist.

Social Effects

A major effect of the CCW was the Land Reform and the Marriage Reform laws that followed the war. The Land Reform law set up a class system; social status was determined by Party Officials. This in turn led to class warfare because of the speak bittnerness campaign. Land was also redistibuted from rich to the poor, which in theory was a good idea, but ended poorly. Many families couldnt afford to tend to their own farms so they had to work together. The marriage law of 1950 made life better for women. It ended arranged marriages, created a minimum marriage age (20boys, 18girls), and made property a joint thing between couples.

Economic Effect

After the Chinese Civil war inflation became seriously out of control. Those who were previously employed by the communists to fight and work for the war lost their jobs and had none to go back to. The Land Reform Law in theory was supposed to help the economy, but didn't help it enough. Beause there were so little supplies after the war, families were not able to farm their land. Mutual Aid Teams were set up and houses worked together, sharing their equipment and their animals. This didn't allow families to make enough money to live.

Foreign Policy

When China became communist it lost it's standing in the west, except with the USSR, with whom they set up the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistence.
The US, during the war, stopped support the Nationalists, but after the war an alliance was made between Taiwan and the US. It was a long-term alliance that was never officially signed. It was set up because of the threat of the communists invading Taiwan. The US also set up an economic relationship with the PRC.

Homework 6

Three Tactics/Methods used by Mao to conquer China and secure power.

1. The Chang Chung model
   One of Mao's methods was to starve cities. This method was used in the city of Changchung, Manchuria in May 1948. It was a result of a failed direct assault led by Mao's communist armies. The idea was to starve the city into surrender and to "strictly ban civilians from leaving the city," said Lin Bao. Civilians were not allowed out of the city; those who had managed to leave were "persuaded" by Communists to return, and those who evaded the communist entered No Man's land where they died of the starvation they would have died from anyway in their homes. The city of Changchung was starving. The civilians were living off of tree leaves and grass. Aside from starving in their homes and on the streets, civilians were abused physically by soldiers. The civilian population had dropped from 500,000 people to 170,000 by the end of the five month starvation period. This model and method was used in other cities, says this source, but the other cities are not listed.
2. Communists exploited the citizens that lived in their own territories. Men of working age were drafted into the Red Army or were forced to work at the front, performing various bits of dangerous labor. The communists had conscripted over 1.5 milion laborers in Manchuria alone. Another 1.5 million were conscripted in the Peking-Tianjin campaign and 5.43 million in teh Huai-Hai campaign. 
3. The method of psychological warfare was another method used by the communists to conquer china. A main factor used in this method was the lack of food the Nationalists faced. Soldiers in the nationalist army would kill each other to acquire food and relied heavily on supplies that were never enough. The communists employed the use of loudspeakers to convey a bribe message to the nationalists. "Hey, Chiang Kaishek, we've got pancakes here, come on over and eat." This method caused many nationalist soldiers to convert to communism, thus further weakening the Nationalist army and furthering the Communists along to victory over China.

Differences in the Portrayal of Communists and their treatment to common People.

1. A major difference in this source from other sources, primarily the China Since 1900 source, is how the communists were badly treating peasants. The Brooman book clearly puts the communists in a better light, for it focuses primarily on the poor treatment the Nationalists gave to civilians. Brooman focuses on thing the Communists did for the peasants, whereas this source cites specific poor treatment towards peasants as a result of communist actions. 
2. The land reform was not previously seen as bad treatment. Brooman describes the land reform the communist started as taking away land from the rich and giving it to the poor. This land reform had negative effects, but Brooman makes the idea seem beneficial for the people. Chapter 30 of Mao the Untold Story describes how land reform was not primarily to give land to the people, but to "struggle against landlord" and promote violence. 
3. ?

Practices of the Chinese Civil War

1. A major and effective practice of the Chinese Civil war was starving cities and civilians to force surrender. This practice was used in Chanchung and other Nationalist controlled territories with beneficial effects for the Communist army. The idea was to blockade cities to force people to stay inside. Those who left were killed or forced back into the city where they would eventually die from hunger anyway. The Communists allowed people to leave who were beneficial to their cause, such as doctors. Those who were not useful were forced to die of hunger unless the Nationalists surrendered. 
2. Another practice of the civil war explained in this source was the use of mass campaigns. These mass campaigns were rallies that promoted class warfare. This practice called upon civilians to speak out against those who oppressed them, mainly landlord. It was a practice that employed the use of scapegoats. It was effective to an extent. It promoted communist ideologies and turned peasants more against the rich.

Examples of Total War

1. A total war is when every available resource is used to fight in battle. The communist went beyond direct assaults and used food as a weapon, for example starving cities and bribing Nationalists with food to surrender or convert to communism. Civilians were used as weapons as well. The civilians were used to speak out against rich and kill them. 
2. Another example of total war is targeting civilians and attacking them. Many peasants lost their houses; they were destroyed to prove fuel for cooking and materials to build bridges. This chapter specifically states that "the whole of Communist-held territory was turned into a giant war machine encompassing every aspect of a person's life." People were forced to work day and night for the war.

Land Reform

1. Land reform was supposed to be, and appeared to be, the Communist policy of redistributing land from the rich to the poor. This was employed in the fight against the Nationalists. This reform was not as it was said to be. Mao's main policy was not in fact to provide more land for the poor and less for the rich. Instead Mao only cared about a policy called dou-di-zhu, or "Struggle against the landlords." This meant that violence against the relatively better off was to be used and followed through. This caused class warfare through the "speak bitterness campaigns. Landlords and other oppressors were abused, stoned to death, hung from legs and wrists, and beat to death with farming tools by peasants. Land reform was not about giving land to the poor. It was about using the rich as scapegoats.

Mao's Main Aim

1. "Mao's main aim was to secure power, not to improve the lives of the peasants. To what extent to you agree with this statement?"
   Based on this source alone, I do agree with this statement. Mao claims that he was for the people, and wanted to make their lives better, but his actions say something different. Mao starved cities to hurt the army of the nationalist soldiers. But he did more than hurt the army. His war practice killed over 300,000 people in one city alone. And not only was Mao killing civilians that supported the nationalists, but he was exploiting his own supporters. He set up a draft that forced them to fight or work day and night. Over 7million people were forced to work and fight, many against their will. Mao's armies, upon his orders, attacked citizens who spoke against them. And even when Mao's power was almost completely secure, he started class warfare. Civilians were allowed to speak out against other civilians. Doing so caused grave consequences for those spoken against, and not doing so had just as a bad a consequence.

Review for Midterm part 1

Questions
1.
[a] Source C states that the Geneva Conference failed because most of all the nations present only presented their 'own specific programs of rearmament.' The French refused to limit arms, thus immediately stomping any attempts at a world disarmament.
[b] The cartoon depicted in Source E portrays the result of the Geneva Conference. Professor Geneva (aka the conference) presented 'King Kong the Greatest Monster in Captivity.' King Kong is labelled with 'armaments' thus implying that the strongest monster in the world was the worlds weapons of warfare. Armaments is breaking free of its captivity, implying that once it is free peace (which is cowering in fear) will suffer at the worlds hands. The overal message from this cartoon is that the world cannot have a complete disarmament of its weapons and militaries. Peace will not successful with this ideation.

3.
Source C is a news piece, 'Izvestia', from the Soviet Union, dated on July 26, 1932. The exact author is considered to be unknown, thus making it more difficult to assess its limitations and values based on origin alone. The except from this news piece addresses the Geneva Conference, with its purpose being to specifically detail why the conference was not a success for the world. The intended audience it was written for was most likely to the people who were currently residing in the Soviet Union, and possbily to the League of Nations. The purpose of this source provides a good oppurtunity to address it's values for studying. One of the obvious values for studying this is that the news piece provides a direct insight into the Soviet Union and
Stalin's specific views on the conference. This value also has it's coinciding limitation that it presents a nationalistic bias, which is not uncommon for documents of this type. Another value is the educational purposes this documents provides. The reasons for the Geneva Conference failing are layed out, though they are from a one-sided point of view that blames the Soviet Union for no part of the failure. The reasons such as the excess amounts of other proposals can be confirmed by other sources, such as in Source E when Germany's views on the matter are introduced.

Source E is a Biritish source, published in 1999. This source is an excerpt from what is believed to be a book written by Carolyn Kitching entitled 'Britain and the Problem of International Disarmament, 1919-1934.' The excerpt provides a British perspective on who should be to blame for the failure of the Geneva Conference. The prime limitation is found alone in the origin. Carolyn Kitching is a British author who is 1) commenting on Germany's faults, 2) defending the French's faults and 3) not addressing any British faults. This document provides no British insight to their own country, thus making the documents value decrease. There is a value, howeve, found in the purpose. There's a new view on the matter of the failure that is being presented. It shows an opposite side of the argument in comparassion to Source C.

Homework 4

Chapter 1
A

1. Almost 200 people were either wounded or killed on the first day of World War II. Streets were lined with German soldiers. The invasion into their country ruined a stable, safe, and secure place in which they lived.
2. a) They were anonymous because the original authors clearly didn't want their names known when speaking out against the invasion. They were afraid of what would happen to them if German soldiers found the sources with their names. It gains a limitation because we do not know anything about the authors.
   b) Source D provides the visual that Sources A and C describe.
   c) They were published probably as propoganda to support the war.
   d) I think it's biased because its all about the German invasion from Polish people who were being invaded. 

B

1. Nothing in those sources promote anything 'humane.' Everything in them are cruel.
2. They killed women and children and burned down houses and buildings without warning. People were killed at random.
3. They don't prove anything because they fail to provide any facts. The only thing that could be taken as fact is the picture, which only shows burned buildings. Burned buildings do not mean they were inhumane, as that could be expected from war.

C

1. I DONT KNOW
2. The men and women were forced to wear gas masks due to fear of consuming gas from enemy bombs.
3. Because no fighting took palce between Britain, France and Germany in the first 9 months of the war.
4. They shouldnt.

Chapter 2
A

1. "Blood, oil, toil, tears, and sweat." The alternative would be peace without fighting, which wasn't possible by this point.
2. It promotes the sense of nationalism in the country. "Victory" is what they want. They want to remain free from the fighting, and are going to get it by whatever means.

Homework 1

1. What attempts were made at improving international relations in the 1920s and 30s and how successful were they?
In the 1920s and 30s the world attempted to improve international relations. These attempts were hardly successful. One of the first attempts made was a committee for promoting collective security, the League of Nations. It had few successes, but the successes were outnumbered by a vast collection of failures that seemed to happen on after another. The League itself made few attempts. The attempts it did make never really sufficed to anything, with a select few successes in less-powerful countries in the world. The attempts made to solve issues in the major world powers such as the US, Great Britain, France, Germany, the USSR, China, Italy, and Japan could have been better. But the problem in the league was that the world powers were never apart of the committee at the same time. This prevented agreements from being agreed upon by all the countries. Events such as the invasion of the Rhineland by Germany never even had attempts made to fix. The events of the Ethiopian invasion by Italy had an attempt at economic sanctions, but was not upheld. No attempts were made to stop Japan from invading Manchuria. Appeasement was the attempt being used for Germany and Japan. It was successful for Japan and Germany, but not for the rest of the world who would be forced to suffer at the hands of Germany and Japan.

2. Knowing what you know now, what could the international community have done differently to make collective security more effective in the 1920s and 30s?

If the US joined the league of nations that came from Wilson's fourteen points, the attempts made might have actually worked. There would have been a way to enforce an economic sanction on Italy for oil, which was not possible with the US not in the league since the US was Italy's main supplier of oil. Also, there would have been more strength in the league in general to enforce it's attempts at collective security.
The League also could have cracked a whip down on Germany when she broke agreements from the treaty of versailles. Especially during the militirization of the Rhineland. A simple group of troops sent from GB or France would have forced Germany to retreat and give up on the Rhineland. Appeasement should never have been employed as way to promote collective security because it only provoked Germany and Japan to continue with their actions.

Homework 3

Discuss a political cause of WWII that could be related to the reading.

• A political cause of WWII could be the Anti-Comintern pact of 1936. The pact was a response to the growing threat of communism in the middle-east. This pact also solidified Germany and Japans alliance, a growing threat already.
  

Discuss an economic cause of WWII that could be related the the reading. 

•  An economic cause was the trade ban issue against Japan after the Japanese invasion of China. This was a huge blow to Japan's economy.
  

Discuss an ideological cause of WWII that could be related to the reading. 

• An ideological cause of WWII was the different types of governments believing theirs was right. It is demonstrated in the Anti-Comintern Pact and the call for a Communist revolution.
  

Answer question A from Chapter 8. 

• The country being represented by the black sun is Japan
• The dark clouds could be a representation of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, with the clouds being Japan.
• The cartoonist could be trying to say that the Japanese invasion was ominous, that it was a bad thing it was a bad thing in the world. Or something along those lines.
  

Answer question B from Chapter 8. 

• I cant even see the picture. It's too dark...
• They were immigrating somewhere else so that they didn't have the Japanese all up in their grill.
• ahah. :D
  

Causes of World War II - Paper 2

 World War Two began in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France, who had alliances with Poland, declared war almost immediately after the invasion. The argument most historians make is that World War II was caused by Germany’s actions after world war one. But the actual cause of the Second World War was the failures of the League of Nations and the attempts at Collective security. Germany’s actions do tie in to the failures, but they are not the main cause.
    The League of Nations was a failure from the beginning. One of the greatest failures of the league was that the main world powers were never apart of the league at the same time. In fact, one of the greatest weaknesses of this was that the US never joined, despite the idea coming from Woodrow Wilson. The US’s non-involvement would prove to be a large factor in the cause of world war two when the Ethiopian crisis occurred.  The League of Nations did not permit Germany to enter until 1926. Seven years later Germany would leave the league so that Hitler could continue his work at Lebensraum. The USSR would join in 1934, and would remain in for the rest of the League’s life. In 1935 Italy left to invade Ethiopia. The League of Nations never could have promoted Collective Security if there was never a chance for the world’s main powers to work collectively to resolve domestic and international issues.
    There was another failure in the League of Nations that would prevent Collective Security. There was a perception by the members of the League that it was run by Great Britain and France. This perception was justified because it seemed as if France and Great Britain were the strongest members in the league, were the first to join, and never left. However, though the perception is that these two countries dominated over the others in the League, it is not completely true, and it would have made no difference even if they did. It would be a good thing and a bad thing that they ran the league. It would be good because they were the strongest world powers involved (the US was a rival for their standing in the world, but not apart of the league). It would be bad because the other countries would feel cheated. Realistically speaking, France and Great Britain were the strongest in the league, but not strong enough to put the League’s aims in action. Because of the World Economic Crisis of 1929 GB and France couldn't afford to send armies or rebuild the armies for Peacemaking in the League of Nations. They were also a lack of will to enforce the attempts made because of their current economic standing, thus the attempts at Collective Security failed.
    World War II probably could have been prevented if the League of Nations had all of the World Powers. There would have been more support to enforce collective security, and there wouldn’t be the perception that two countries were dominating over the others.
    In 1935 Mussolini left the League of Nations. There was an incident at the natural borderline set up by Italy and Ethiopia, known as the Welwel, where Italian and Ethiopian soldiers got into a turf battle. This small fight went against the 1928 pact made between Mussolini and Haile Sellassie (emperor of Ethiopia) to remain neutral. Mussolini used this incident to accuse Ethiopia of being aggressive and in turn to invade the country. Mussolini did invade in October of 1935. Upon being invaded The Emperor of Ethiopia went to the League of Nations for support. The League of Nations set up economic sanctions on Italy, but they were not effective until six months after fighting began in Ethiopia. These sanctions were a good attempt, but unfortunately for Ethiopia, not enough. The League sanctioned nearly everything except oil, one of two things that could have stopped the invasion from being as devastating as it was. The US was Italy’s main supplier of oil, and because they were not apart of the League of Nations, a sanction of oil would have been ineffective. Great Britain could have prevented the invasion as well if they had closed the Suez canal to Italian ships, but due to a lack of will to enforce collective security, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia was a success for Italy, and Germany as well, for Germany and Mussolini were strongly allied at this point of time.
    Through all these failed attempts by the League of Nations, Germany was rebuilding her forces and doing her own bit of invading herself. As was her ally, Japan. The League of Nations used appeasement to promote peace-making. It was the worst choice the League could have made. Appeasement was giving Germany (and Japan when she invaded Manchuria in 1936) the “OK” to go against treaties made. One of the greatest failures of the League of Nations that would be a main cause of World War II was the lack of will to enforce the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was unhappy with these conditions, they felt they were too harshly treated in the treaty, and therefore sought to abolish it. They retook the Rhineland and made it a military zone once again. If the League of Nations had sent any number of troops into the Rhine to stop Hitler, they would have been able to. Hitler was gambling. He only sent a small number of soldiers into the Rhine to test the League. They would have been forced to retreat if any number of French or British troops had gone in, but no troops were sent to stop Germany.
    This sort of peacemaking by allowing Germany to break treaties was not just a one time deal.  In fact, the League of Nations let Hitler get away with everything they did except for the invasion of Poland. Germany was able to rebuild her army and navy, even though the Treaty of Versailles clearly stated that Germany could have only six naval ships, no tanks, no air force, and no submarines. Germany had all four by the start of World War II.
    There is an argument made that states that Germany would have done these things anyway even if Britain and France and the League didn’t use appeasement. They would have, yes, but they would have failed. No way would they have been able to take the Rhineland if the League intervened. It was preventable. The invasion of Poland was preventable, too. All the League had to do was enforce a treaty and Germany would not have been able to rearm and rebuild and invade countries for land. They would not have been able to invade Poland, and the declarations of war from Great Britain and France would not have been issued.
    The League of Nations was weak. There were solid attempts made to promote Collective Security, and some did in fact succeed, but these successes were outnumbered by the failures. The League of Nations could have prevented World War II if they had the main world powers involved, if they had the will to enforce the attempts made, and if they did not allow Germany and Japan to invade and take over countries and break agreements from the treaty of the first world war. The League of Nations wanted to prevent another war, but they were unable to do so because of its own failures at Peacemaking after World War One.

The League of Nations and Causes of WWII

The aim of the league of nations was to promote collective security and prevent another world war.

Failures of the League

• Main world powers never were in the league at the same time.
• the US never joined, even though it was Wilson who suggested the idea
• Germany wasn't able to join until 1926, and then left in 1933.
• the USSR didn' join until 1934
• Italy left in 1935
• Perception that it was "run by" Great Britain and France. (Victors of WWI)
• France and GB made mandates out of the Middle East
• Took away colonies from Germany in Africa and the Pacific

Long and Short Terms Causes of WWII

• World Wide Economic Crisis 1929
• US Stock Market collapses, US cuts off loans to Germany.
• Crisis spreads to Europe and Asia.
• Countries began focusing on domestic issues rather than foreign policy.
• Lack of will to enforce collective security.
• GB and France couldn't afford to send armies or rebuild the armies for Peacemaking in the League of Nations.
• Treaty of Versailles - regain territories and restore German pride
• League of Nations
• Japan invades Manchuria in 1931
• Some consider this the start of WWII
• in the late 20s and 30s military takes control of the Japanese Government
• Japanese exports shrink
• silk trade goes down
• hurts Japanese farmers
• Chinese squeeze out some Japanese Business
• 1931 the Army invades Manchuria without Governments Permission
• Japanese PM objects and is assassinated
• PM, who was friendly to the army, was put into office.
• Washington Naval Conference 1921-1922
• USA and Japan (and Great Britain) have conflicting economic interests in Asia.
• Fight over who would get control over raw materials
• Japanese ideology in the 1930s was "Asians for the Asians
• The purpose of the Naval Conference was to improve relations between Japan and the USA (and Great Britain)
• The conference wanted to prevent another Naval Race
• Agreement: The Japanese Navy would be 3/5 the size of US and British Navies.
• Great Britain and the USA promise not to build any more Navy bases within striking distance of Japan. Bases already set up in the Philippines and Guam would remain.
• US, France, Great Britain, and Japan agree to the Neutrality of China
• German Invasion of Poland - 1939
• Immediate cause of World War II.
• Germany invades Poland, expecting Britain and France to remain passive.
• Upon invading Poland, Britain and France declare war almost immediately.
• Italian Invasion of Ethiopia
• Mussolini and Haile Selassie signed a pact to remain non-aggressive.
• Mussolini breaks the pact after accusing Ethiopia of aggression after a class at Wal Wal.
• The League of Nations attempted to impose economic sanctions on Italy. This attempt took six weeks before it started working, but even then it wasn't enough. There was a  sanction on goods like steel and gold, but a sanction on oil could have halted the invasion immediately.
• The League could not stop the invasion, mainly because the US was not apart of the LoN.
• This invasion was a blow to the attempts at peacemaking in the 1930s, and would be a factor in war.

Paper 2

Question :
Evaluate the successes and failures of one single-party state.

    Adolf Hitler led his country for about thirteen to fifteen years. During his rule he made his aims very clear and specific. Though some historians may argue that Hitler's aims were unspecific and unsuccessful, there are many reasons to support that Hitler's rule was in fact mostly successful.
    Hitler wanted the world to think he only wanted peace. He knew the other countries looked down upon his country, and in order to gain a place in the world he knew he had to make them believe his intentions to be good. One of the ways he did this was through making alliances with other countries, including Poland, Russia, and Italy.
    In 1934 Hitler signed a Ten Year Non Aggression Pact with Poland. He did this because he knew the Poles and her allies were afraid that Germany would soon start to try and take back the German parts of the country. In order to make the Eastern world calm down, Hitler knew what he had to do. He agreed to not go to war with Poland or to have any sort of quarrel for ten years. This was definitely one of Hitler's greatest successes at the time. Britain took this pact as further evidence of his peaceful intentions, it ruined the French's Little Entente_{, which was mostly dependent on Poland, and it guaranteed Poland neutrality when Germany made actions against Austria and Czechoslovakia.} Though this pact would end up broken in five years due to Germany's invasion, it can still be considered a success when it was first made. This pact made it possible in those five years for Hitler to continue building his military, navy, and country.
    The Saar was returned to Germany (January 1935) after a plebiscite resulting in a 90% vote in favour. Though the plebiscite had been provided for at Versailles, Nazi propaganda made the most of the success, and Hitler announced that now all causes of grievance between France and Germany had been removed.
    After World War One, Hitler and the rest of Germany believed they were mistreated in the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler took advantages of these negative feelings towards the treaty and made it a public aim to abolish the treaty.
    Hitler’s first successful breach of Versailles came in March 1935 when he announced the reintroduction of a draft. His excuse was that Britain had just announced air force increases and France had extended their draft from 12 to 18 months (their justification was German rearmament). Much to their dismay, Hitler told his startled generals and the rest of the world that he would build up his peacetime army to 36 divisions (about 600,000 men). The generals need not have worried: although the Stresa Front (a planned alliance between France, Britain and Italy) condemned this violation of Versailles, no action was taken, the League was helpless, and the Front collapsed anyway as a result of Hitler’s next success, the militarising of the Rhineland.
    The treaty of Versailles called for the demilitarization of the Rhineland. This was dangerous for Germans to not have a defense in place if France chose to invade through the Rhine. Hitler aimed to remilitiraize as soon as he could.
    He took the opportunity in March of 1936. He sent a small army, small enough that if Britain or France reacted to the illegal action, Germany would have to retreat and suffer the consequences. Britain was completely unprepared to take any action. France would not do anything without British support, and Germany was backed up by Mussolini. Germany was able to militarize the Rhineland due to his decision to gamble. Historians argue that it was the conditions in the other countries that made this successful. But the fact of the matter is, the world knew it was going to happen. It was anticipated for years, the only question was when Germany would act. Hitler took the chance when he saw the opening.
    Hitler allied himself with Mussolini when Italy invaded Ethiopia. This alliance would make German militarization of the Rhine more possible. If France had in fact acted, Germany would have had the support from Mussolini to succeed anyway. Hitler's choice to ally with Italy during the invasion of Ethiopia was looked down upon in the world, but it was a success of Hitler in the end.
    Hitler and Mussolini made the alliance more concrete with the Rome - Berlin Axis. Japan and Germany also made an alliance at the same time, known as the Anti-Comintern pact that Italy would later join. Hitler's aim to ally himself with other countries succeeded.
    Germany had many foreign policy aims. These aims were almost all successful at first, but due to poor planning the successes became failures. It is argued that because they became failures they were not at all successful. But when looked at with the time they were made and the immediate effect the aims had, they were successful. Germany also had many domestic policies that lasted throughout Hitler's rule.
    The aims included Hitler Youth, the Law for the Enforcement of Marriage, the Hitler schools, improved work situations, and more. These all lasted throughout his rule and were supported by the country. The only reason why these aims would eventually fail was because of Germany's surrender in World War II.
    Whatever the truth about his long-term intentions, Hitler began his foreign policy with a series of brilliant successes (one of the main reasons for his popularity in Germany). By the end of 1938 almost every one of Hitler’s aims had been achieved, without war and with the approval of Britain. Only the Germans of Poland remained to be brought within the Reich. Unfortunately, it was when he failed to achieve this by peaceful means that Hitler took his fateful decision to invade Poland. His domestic policies were also succeeding, but it would be Hitler's fatal mistake of invading Poland that would bring about his failure.