The Road to Pearl Harbor: The United States and East Asia
Lesson Plan #2: America and the Sino-Japanese Conflict, 1933-1939
I. Introduction
The Japanese conquest of Manchuria in 1931 was only the first step in what became a
much larger campaign to create a pro-Japanese “buffer state” in North China, a campaign
that resulted in full-scale war between Japan and China in 1937. From the beginning the
United States considered Japan the aggressor, and responded with a policy of aiding the
Chinese government while imposing economic sanctions against Japan. Thanks at least
in part to outside aid for China the Japanese offensive bogged down by the end of 1939,
leaving Tokyo looking for alternate solutions to what it called the “China Incident.”
This lesson will examine the overall principles which underlay both Japanese and
American foreign policy in the mid-1930s. Through the use of documents and an
interactive timeline, students will be invited to assess the effectiveness of U.S. policy
toward East Asia.
II. Guiding Question
In its approach to the Sino-Japanese conflict of the 1930s, did the United States place
itself on a path to war?
III. Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, students should be able to:
 Explain why Japan went to war against China during the 1930s.
 Articulate the reasons why U.S. interests were at stake in East Asia.
 Discuss how the United States responded to developments in the Sino-Japanese
War.
 Assess the effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy in East Asia in the 1930s.
IV. Background Information for the Teacher
By the end of 1933 Japan had become almost entirely estranged from much of the rest of
the world, thanks to the 1931 invasion of Manchuria (and its subsequent re-creation as
the puppet state of Manchukuo) and the country’s withdrawal from the League of
Nations. However, Tokyo’s greatest fear was the spread of Soviet influence in East Asia,
and therefore in November 1936 Japan joined Germany in signing the Anti-Comintern
Pact [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/tri1.htm], in which the two powers
pledged to cooperate in fighting international communism. More important, however,
were efforts by Japan’s government to create a Japanese-dominated “autonomous region”
in China north of the Great Wall [http://ibiblio.org/pha/monos/144/144app01.html] to
serve as a buffer against possible Soviet expansion into East Asia.
Although Tokyo’s ambitions caused alarm among the Chinese, for the first few years the
Chinese government at Nanking showed little willingness to resist Japan’s growing
power in the country’s northern provinces. Indeed, China’s leaders seemed far more
interested in fighting Chinese Communists, who were engaged in a continual campaign
of subversion. However, this all changed in December 1936, when Nanking abruptly
changed course and signed an agreement with the Communists; from now on, both sides
pledged, they would cooperate against the common threat of Japanese imperialism.
Alarmed at this turn of events, Tokyo prepared for war, and after fighting broke out at the
Marco Polo Bridge, just outside Peking, in July 1937 the Japanese army launched a fullscale offensive. Within a few weeks the Japanese had captured the Chinese cities of
Peking, Tientsin, and were advancing rapidly toward the capital of Nanking.
Given that the United States had considerable trading and missionary interests in China,
the Sino-Japanese War could not help but attract attention from Washington. President
Franklin Roosevelt wasted no time in branding Japan as an aggressor
[http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/093.html] and enacting a policy that involved a
combination of aid to China and economic sanctions against Japan. Moreover, when in
December 1937 Japanese aircraft attacked and sank the American gunboat U.S.S. Panay
in the Yangtze River, the administration demanded (and received) a formal apology and
indemnity from Tokyo [http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/098.html].
Roosevelt’s policies in East Asia were not without their critics, the most important of
whom was Joseph Grew, the U.S. ambassador to Tokyo. In a letter to the Secretary of
State [http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=1503] he
recommended that the United States either had to threaten to use force against Japan
(which, in order to be credible, would require a serious increase in the size of the
American armed forces), or to stay out of the Sino-Japanese conflict altogether. The
administration’s policy of assistance to China and economic pressure on Japan, he
warned, would not deter Tokyo—it would only anger the Japanese and drive them toward
more extreme measures.
Indeed, the U.S. response did not bring an end to Japanese aggression in China, but it did
encourage the Chinese government in holding out against Tokyo’s demands. The
Japanese army continued its advance, seizing Nanking (followed by an orgy of looting
and rape [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/nanking.html] which shocked the world)
in December 1937. Tsingtao, Hankow, and the port cities of South China (the most
important of which was Canton) fell over the course of 1938. Yet the Chinese
government refused to surrender, moving its capital west to Chungking, far in the interior
of the country.
All of this posed a serious problem for Japan. While its army had won every battle
against the Chinese, it was clear that there were not enough Japanese troops to overrun a
country as large as China. Indeed, by late 1938 there were not even enough men to
impose an effective occupation over those parts of the country that they had conquered,
so that a powerful Communist-led guerrilla movement was able to operate behind
Japanese lines. U.S. economic sanctions were beginning to take their toll as well. By
1939, therefore, the offensive had run out of steam. Tokyo concluded that it could only
win the war by cutting China off from its foreign sources of support, and by seeking new
resources to replace those that the United States now refused to sell to Japan. This,
however, would mean expanding the scope of the war, and potentially escalating U.S.Japanese tensions into a full-scale crisis.
V. Preparing to Teach this Lesson
Review the lesson plan. Locate and bookmark suggested materials and links from
EDSITEment-reviewed websites used in this lesson. Download and print out selected
documents and duplicate copies as necessary for student viewing.
Download the Text Document for this lesson, available here as a PDF file. This file
contains excerpted versions of the documents used in the various activities, as well as
questions for students to answer. Print out and make an appropriate number of copies of
the handouts you plan to use in class.
Finally, familiarize yourself the interactive timeline “America on the Sidelines: The
United States and World Affairs, 1931-1941 [temporarily being housed at
http://www.kfallon.com/civ] that accompanies this lesson. This timeline will, through
text and maps, guide students through the major events in Asia in the 1930s, and will ask
students for each event to identify (choosing from among a menu of options) how the
United States responded to it.
Analyzing primary sources:
If your students lack experience in dealing with primary sources, you might use one or
more preliminary exercises to help them develop these skills. The Learning Page at the
American Memory Project of the Library of Congress
(http://memory.loc.gov/learn/start/prim_sources.html#) includes a set of such activities.
Another useful resource is the Digital Classroom of the National Archives, which
features a set of Document Analysis Worksheets
(http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/analysis_worksheets/worksheets.htm
l). Finally, History Matters offers helpful pages on “Making Sense of Documentary
Photography” (http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/Photos/) and “Making Sense of Maps”
(http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/maps/) which give helpful advice to teachers in
getting their students to use such sources effectively.
VI. Suggested Activities
Activity #1: Competing Objectives
For the first activity students will read official statements of policy from both the
Japanese and the American governments in the mid-1930s. In doing so they should gain
an understanding of what Japan’s overall goals were for Asia, as well as how they
conflicted with American principles of foreign policy. It should be apparent Tokyo was
putting forth a specific vision for a Japanese-dominated East Asia, while the United
States focused on broad, universal standards for international behavior.
To begin, review with students the critical material from the first lesson of this
curriculum unit. They should recall the tension between Japan’s ambitions in China and
the American policy of the “open door.” They should also be reminded about Japan’s
grievances toward the United States concerning trade and immigration. Finally, the
Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and the U.S. policy of nonrecognition, should be
reviewed.
Next, put students in pairs and have them read (in class) the following document, found
in its excerpted form on pages 2-4 of the Text Document, and in its complete form at the
site “WWII Resources,” which is linked from the EDSITEment-reviewed resource
Digital History: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/:

Fundamental Principles of National Policy, August 15, 1936:
http://ibiblio.org/pha/monos/144/144app01.html
To help guide their reading, students should answer (in their pairs) the following
questions, available in worksheet form on page 1 of the Text Document:
1. According to this document, which foreign country poses the greatest threat to
Japan’s national interests, and why?
2. What do the Japanese hope to accomplish in China? How do they plan to go
about doing so?
3. How, according to the document, is the United States likely to react to Japanese
efforts in China? What should Japan do to allay U.S. concerns?
4. What measures does this document recommend for Japan’s dealings with Great
Britain and Germany?
5. Why is the “Southern Region” so important for Japan?
Students should be given the remainder of class to complete this part of the activity.
When they have finished, hand out the following document, also available at “WWII
Resources,” but reproduced on page 5 of the Text Document:

Statement by Secretary of State Cordell Hull, July 16, 1937:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/086.html
Students should read this document for homework. As a written assignment, students
should put themselves in the role of Japanese diplomats and write a brief (4-5 paragraph)
response to Hull’s statement. In what way might the principles Hull advocates be seen as
standing in the way of Japan’s goals for East Asia? Is there anything that Hull says that
Tokyo might appreciate (i.e., the emphasis on the importance of international trade)?
Activity #2: Competing Policies
Now that the students have a basic understanding of each side’s goals, the second activity
will introduce them to Japan’s actions in East Asia, and how the United States reacted to
them. In so doing they should notice how the Roosevelt administration gradually moved
away from a policy of simple nonrecognition to one of economic sanctions against Japan
and aid for China.
This activity will require use of the interactive timeline “America on the Sidelines: The
United States and World Affairs, 1931-1941” [temporarily being housed at
http://www.kfallon.com/civ]. If students do not have access to computers in the
classroom, teachers should arrange to hold one class session in the school’s computer lab.
At the beginning of class provide each student with a blank map of East Asia and the
Pacific region; a good one is available at
http://wps.ablongman.com/wps/media/objects/579/592970/BlankMaps/World%20War%
20II%20in%20the%20Pacific.gif.
Direct students to use the interactive to study the events of 1931 through 1939. As
students go through the events of those years, ask them to consider the various options
available to the United States—listed along the left-hand side—and for each event select
what they think the actual response was. If they choose the wrong response, they should
continue to make selections until they have found find the right one. As they use the
interactive they should make a list of the events (with dates), and the U.S. responses. In
addition, they should make note of the locations indicated in the interactive by marking
them on their blank maps. In the course of the interactive students should notice that
1937 marks a major shift in policy for both sides—for the Japanese this was the start of a
full-scale war against China; for the United States it marks the beginning of a more
assertive policy toward Japan.
When students have finished using the interactive, hand out the following documents.
They may be found in their excerpted form on pages 6-7 of the Text Document, or in
their entirety at “WWII Resources” and at the EDSITEment-reviewed resource Teaching
American History (http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org):

Address delivered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Chicago, October 5,
1937: http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/093.html

Ambassador Joseph C. Grew to Secretary of State Cordell Hull, October 1937:
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=1503
Once students have read these two documents, ask students to imagine that they members
of the U.S. Congress. They are to use the information garnered from both the interactive
and the two documents to write a 4-5 paragraph memo to the President either defending
or criticizing his administration’s policy toward East Asia. If time permits, teachers
might wish to have students read their memos in class the following day.
VII. Assessment
The written assignments used in the first and second activities may be used as formal
assessment tools.
Upon completion of this lesson, students should be able to write a five paragraph essay
answering the following:
 Did U.S. policy toward East Asia in the 1930s forestall or hasten war with Japan?
In addition, students should be able to locate the following on a blank map of East Asia:
 Peking
 Shanghai
 Nanking
 Chungking
 Canton
 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
 Mongolia
Finally, students should be able to identify and explain the significance of the following:
 Anti-Comintern Pact
 Panay Incident
 Nanking Massacre
VIII. Extending the Lesson
The attack by Japanese aircraft on the U.S.S. Panay caused a momentary crisis in U.S.Japanese relations; some in the administration even spoke of going to war. However, a
speedy apology by the Japanese government, and a promise to pay for damages,
smoothed over the matter. The vast majority of Americans were unwilling to fight;
indeed, many asked what a U.S. Navy vessel was doing in China in the first place.
Teachers might wish to have students read more about the Panay Incident; the relevant
diplomatic correspondence [http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/098.html and
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/099.html] is available at “World War II Resources”
[http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/index.html], which is linked from the EDSITEment-reviewed
site Digital History [http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/]. Students might be asked to
consider whether the Japanese response was sufficient.
The Nanking Massacre, in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese were killed during
the six weeks after the Japanese captured the city, outraged world opinion, and quickly
became a symbol of Japan’s aggression against China. A newspaper account of the
massacre [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/nanking.html] is available at the Internet
East Asian History Sourcebook
[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/eastasiasbook.html], accessible via the
EDSITEment-reviewed Internet Medieval Sourcebook
[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html]. An extended treatment of this event
[http://cnd.org/mirror/nanjing/NMNJ.html]—as well as of other Japanese war crimes in
China—is accessible via the site “Documents of the Interwar Period”
[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/interwar.htm], which is in turn linked from the
EDSITEment-reviewed Internet Public Library [http://www.ipl.org]. Students might be
asked to write brief essays on this event, based on the above sources.
Perhaps no group in the United States followed the developments of the Sino-Japanese
War more closely than Chinese-Americans. There were substantial Chinese communities
in a number of American cities, and during the 1930s they launched a “Save China”
campaign, organizing boycotts against Japanese products and calling upon the U.S.
government to step up its support of China. Examples of the campaign’s literature
[http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5066 and http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5067] may be
found at the EDSITEment-reviewed site History Matters [http://historymatters.gmu.edu].
Students might be asked to consider how effective this campaign might have been.
IX. EDSITEment-reviewed Web Resources Used in this Lesson
Teaching American History: http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org
Ambassador Joseph C. Grew to Secretary of State Cordell Hull, October 1937:
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=150
3
Digital History: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
WWII Resources: http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/index.html
Peace and War: United States Foreign Policy, 1931-1941:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/index.html
Statement by Secretary of State Cordell Hull, July 16, 1937:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/086.html
Address delivered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Chicago,
October 5, 1937: http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/093.html
Secretary of State Cordell Hull to Ambassador Joseph Grew,
December 13, 1937:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/098.html
Ambassador Joseph Grew to Secretary of State Cordell Hull,
December 14, 1937:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/099.html
The Japanese Monographs: http://ibiblio.org/pha/monos/
Fundamental Principles of National Policy, August 15, 1936:
http://ibiblio.org/pha/monos/144/144app01.html
History Matters: http://historymatters.gmu.edu
“To Save Ourselves”: Anti-Japanese Activities of Members of the CHLA:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5066
“To Save China”: New York Hand Laundry Alliance Intensifies Anti-Japanese
Work: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5067
Best of History Web Sites: http://www.besthistorysites.net/
World War II Sites: http://connections.smsd.org/veterans/wwii_sites.htm
Pearson-Longman Instructor Resources:
http://wps.ablongman.com/long_nash_ap_6/0,7361,592970
-,00.html
Blank Map—WWII in the Pacific:
http://wps.ablongman.com/wps/media/objects/579/5
92970/BlankMaps/World%20War%20II%20in%20t
he%20Pacific.gif
Internet Medieval Sourcebook: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
Internet East Asian History Sourcebook:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/eastasiasbook.html
The Nanking Massacre, 1937:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/nanking.html
Internet Public Library: http://www.ipl.org
Documents of the Interwar Period:
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/interwar.htm
Basic Facts on the Nanking Massacre and the Tokyo War Crimes Trial:
http://cnd.org/mirror/nanjing/NMNJ.html
X. Additional Information
 Grade levels: 10-12
 Subject Areas: U.S. History
 Time Required: 2-3 class periods
 Skills:
o Analyzing and comparing first hand accounts
o Debating key issues and topics
o Interpreting written information
o Information gathering
o Making inferences and drawing conclusions
o Observing and describing
o Representing ideas and information orally, graphically and in writing.
o Utilizing the writing process
o Utilizing technology for research and study of primary source
documents




o Vocabulary development
o Working collaboratively
Standards Alignment: www.ncss.org/standards/strands/
o NCSS-2—Time, Continuity, and Change: The study of the ways
human beings view themselves in and over time.
o NCSS-3—People, Places and Environment: The study of people,
places, and environments
o NCSS-5—Individuals, Groups, and Institutions: The study of
interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.
o NCSS-6—Power, Authority, and Governance: How people create and
change structures of power, authority, and governance.
Lesson Writers:
o John Moser, Ashland University, Ashland, OH
o Lori Hahn, Sheffield Area Middle Senior High School, Sheffield, PA
Teacher/Student Resources:
o Interactive Timeline
o Text Document
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans:
o American Diplomacy in World War II
[http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=702]
o “The Proper Application of Overwhelming Force”: The United States
in World War II
[http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=653]
o The United States and Europe: From Neutrality to War, 1921-1941