History Courses For Dr. Christopher C. Lovett
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History Courses For Dr. Christopher C. Lovett |
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Updated as of 2 October 05 Today in History: On October 2, 1780, Major John Andrι, a British spy associated with Benedict Arnold, was executed on this day in history. Quote of the Day: "In my view we are much worse off now than when we went into Iraq. This is not a partisan position. I voted for these guys." A senior figure at a military-sponsored think tank as told to James Fallows in "Bush's Lost Year" in The Atlantic Monthly (Oct. 2004) Take the Ann Coulter Quiz Where are you politically? Take the Neocon Quiz and find out. "History is Far too Important to be left to History Professors" Teaching isn't such a novel idea
Bibliography:
History of Disease Contemporary Terrorist Organizations Map of Islamic Terrorist Cells in the U.S.A.
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Japan and the Crisis of the 1930sAge of Total WarFall 2007Old Historical Thinking For years it was believed that Hirohitos hands were clean. He was a God. He was disengaged from the day-to-day activities of political Japan. Unfortunately, professional historians and Japan watchers were wrong. Why? Because he was a hand-on ruler. He knew what was happening all of the time.Japanese Imperialism As a result of the Sino-Japanese War in 1894-95 gained Formosa and became dominant in Korea. The Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05, Japan gained Russias position in Manchuria and strengthened their hold over Korea. In World War I gained Germanys colonies in the Pacific and China. And issued the infamous Twenty-One Demands on China in 1915.The Root of the Japans Anxiety with China The Japanese saw themselves as children of Yamato. The Japanese saw the Chinese as weak failing for the power of the gaijin. Once China was great, now look at what has happened. As a result of the Opium Wars and the Treaty ports. And collapsing under Western domination.Japan and the Postwar Settlement Japan managed to seize Germanys concessions in China. And in the Pacific. Including the Marshals, the Marianas, and the Carolina Islands. Likewise, the Japanese provided convoy duty for the British in the Pacific and the Mediterranean. Winning the gratitude of the British. And a place at the conf. Table.Lack of Respect Japan was not treated as an equal. The Great Britain, Japans first ally, had to reassess the alliance because of the Americans. Who envisioned a future war with Japan. And Britain did not to go to war with the United States. The result was the Washington Naval Conference (1921-22).The Washington Naval Conference Charles Evans Hughes, the American Secretary of State immediately announced a plan to go further than the initial proposal for naval reductions. Hughes proposed a reduction of nearly 2 million tons of warships. Plus also guarantees for the Open Door in China. And other agreements concerning Asia and the Pacific.Other Components of the Washington Naval Conference Four-Power Pact agreed to settle disputes concerning the Pacific region to a conference to resolve. Shantung Treaty Japan returned Shantung peninsula to China after Japan seized the region after the World War I. Nine-Power Treaty recognized the territorial integrity of China.Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty Set ratios for the construction of capital ships. The ratio was 5:5:3:1.67:1.67. For the USA, GB, Japan, France, and Italy. All agreed on a naval holiday to last for ten years concerning new naval construction. No new fortifications east of Hawaii for the Americans and in Singapore for the British.Immigration Restrictions Gentlemens Agreement (1908) Japan would restrict Japanese nationals immigrating to the U.S. Immigration Act of 1924 effectively closed Japanese immigration to the U.S. Alien Land Law California Legislature passed this law to bar Japanese from owning land, especially those ineligible for citizenship.The Impact on Japan The Japanese were angered by the fact that they were not accept. For the children of Yamato. The Japanese were very proud. And for some these were affronts. Similar agreements were held in London in 1930, Geneva in 1932, and London in 1936. All were unacceptable to the Japanese military.The Japanese Situation following Versailles The Japanese felt wanted to be accepted. Instead they discovered that they were rejected by the West. Especially the Americans. Even the British too, their traditional ally. Yet Japan was making head way. Especially in textiles and challenging the British.Japans Fascination with the United States The Japanese developed a fascination with baseball. And automobiles. And American culture. Particularly dancing. And all things American. But this angered Japanese conservatives. Who begin to come into their own in the late 1920s and early 1930s.The Great Tokyo Earthquake in 1923 It struck on Sept. 1, 1923. Registered 8.1 on the Richter Scale. Fires broke out throughout the city. The public then blamed the Koreans. Who were attacked at will. Perhaps 140,000 died and countless others injured. Aid rushed in from the West, including the U.S.The Emergence of the Rightwing There was a deep resentments mounting in Japan. Over the Washington Naval Conference in 1922. Then in 1924 U.S. prohibited Japanese immigration into the United States. While militarism was in decline following the war, it was revived by such nationalists as Kitta Ikki. Claiming that Japan had the right to demand equality with the millionaire powers. China was ready for the taking.Western Culture Takes to Tokyo Department stores like Harrods and Bloomingdales. Japanese took to cars. And Baseball. Movies like Charlie Chaplain were very poplar. As was Jazz. Dancing. Which drove the political reactionaries crazy.Troubles in the Land of Nippon Japan was vulnerable to famine. Japan had the smallest area under cultivation. Farmers were barely able to subsist on very small acreage. Particularly to the king of grains. Even the honorable little gentleman was vulnerable too. To rising competition from synthetic fibers.Economic Troubles Japan was limited by the lack of raw materials. Susceptible to economic down turns. Trade barriers. Since Japan depended on foreign trade. Part of the problem was driven by the Japanese population explosion.What was the Problem? The Japanese were having four births per minute. Nearly a million new mouths per year. Part of the problem was an oriental birth rate and an occidental death rate. Margaret Sanger arrived in 1922 and she was barred from distributing her literature. Japanese men hated the condom the most.Agriculture and Japan Historically, Japan viewed agriculture as the foundation of Japanese society. The failure to improve the lot of the peasants discredited not only capitalists, but democracy itself. It also caused a major division between town and city. Plus helped drive the Army into extremism. In the 1930s.Background The textile industry which comprised 25% of Japans work force. Accounted for two thirds of Japans exports. Suffered a wage drop by a quarter. But did not receive government support. And was vulnerable to protectionism. By 1930, over 2 million textile workers were out of work.Japanese Paternalism Only 8% of Japanese workers belonged to a union. Japanese workers lacked discipline. Strikes were disorganized. Sometimes strikes were violent. Part of the problem was that the government supported the Zaibatsu. Large Japanese industrial groups.The Response Assassination of Japanese prime ministers. Business leaders who were considered a threat to the Imperial Way. Another way was expansion. In Manchuria.
Which started somewhat earlier
than the Great Depression.
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