Essential Question
Examine the reasons for the USA’s change of
attitude towards Japan between 1931 and
1941
Learning Outcomes - Students will:
◦ Review – how far have they come?
◦ Learn about internationalism
◦ Learn about the end of internationalism
Success Criteria
 I can add to my table of causes of War with
Japan

What has Japan
done to anger the
international
community?








League of Nations
Collective Security
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Lytton Report
Isolationism
Neutrality Acts
Stimson Doctrine
Tripartite Act

Pg. 54~98
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 Notes
 Essential Question
◦ IB Math
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 Textbook only = max 5
 Notes + Textbook =
6~7

Established in the
Treaty of Versailles,
however the US is not a
member
◦ Centered around the
idea of Collective
Security
◦ Ex. 1928 Kellogg-Briand
Pact
 Promised not to use war to
solve disputes (Japan
signed)
Remember: Actions
have consequences

1932 Lytton Report

Problem
◦ Japan should give Manchuria back to
China and the League will not
recognize Manchukuo
◦ Didn’t England and France gain their
empires by force?
 1933 – Japan withdraws from the
League
Impact: Shows the
League is weak
• Japan continues
conquest
• Italy noticed

Why not a stronger response?
◦ France – benefited from a weak
China
◦ England – didn’t have anything to do
with the situation
◦ Economy – The Depression meant
that Western countries had bigger
concerns
◦ Fear of Communism – Japan would
stop the spread


Isolationism
Why?
◦ WW1 – US did not want to get
involved in European affairs
◦ Depression – more concerned
fixing their own problems (New
Deal)
◦ Trade – continued to trade with
Japan and actually saw a benefit to
Japan taking over parts of China
◦ Non-involvement
 Stimson Doctrine – will not recognize
any violation of Chinese territory
 Neutrality Acts – US would not
supply arms, will not give loans
◦ No Navy – Congress refused to
give funding to the development of
a Pacific navy

US became more aggressive
towards Japanese expansionism
◦ Ex. 1939 – “moral embargo” on
planes, credit to Japan was stopped
◦ Ex. 1939 – ignored the Neutrality
act and gave $25 million to
nationalists in China

Why?
◦ Sino-Japanese War
 US had economic interests in China
 Dec ’37 – Japanese sink USS Paney in
the Yangtze R. as it escorted an oil
tanker
◦ "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity
Sphere“
 Any country that didn’t want to be
included would be an enemy
◦ International Context
 Hitler’s success in Europe

Why?

1940 Tripartite Act
(Germany, Italy, Japan)
◦ Hitler recognized the growing
US-Japanese tension and feared
the US joining the war in Europe
on the British side
◦ Japan recognized the threat of
the growing US navy in the
Pacific; with Nazi success in the
war, Japan feared that it would
miss out; with the Nazi-Soviet
Pact, wanted to get back on
Hitler’s good side
◦ Recognize Japan’s right to
establish a “New Order” in East
Asia
◦ Would declare war on any
country, not in the war already, if
they attack another
 Specifically directed at the US,
letting them know that if they
attack in Europe, they will be at
war with Japan
Causes of the
Mukden Incident
1928-32
Causes of the
Causes of Japan’s
Sino-Japanese War attack on Pearl
1933-37
Harbor
Nationalism
Militarism
Don’t do yet
Political situation
in Japan
Economic
situation in Japan
Situation in China
Actions of the
West
Conclusions
Complete these sections
Essential Question
Examine the reasons for the USA’s change of
attitude towards Japan between 1931 and
1941
Learning Outcomes - Students will:
◦ Review – Japanese-US relations
◦ Learn about what changed in the 1940s
◦ Complete your table explaining the reaction of the West
to Japanese aggression
Success Criteria
 I can complete my table

Describe the
relationship
between the US
and Japan
◦ Pre-1938?
◦ Post 1938?
◦ What changed?


Matsuoka
General Tojo

Pg. 54~98
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to
 Notes
 Essential Question
◦ IB Math
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 Textbook only = max 5
 Notes + Textbook =
6~7


Diplomacy and Economic
Sanctions had failed to end the
Sino-Japanese War
Action
◦ Moved Pacific fleet from California to
Pearl Harbor
 Meant to deter the Japanese and support
the British

Japanese reaction – plan an attack
◦ 1940 – Tripartite Pact made it clear to
the Japanese that war was inevitable
◦ Belief was that the US would not stand
by and watch Japan take over SE Asia,
but they also knew they could not win
an all-out war with the US
◦ A surprise attack coordinated with an
attack throughout SE Asia would give
Japan the resources it would need (oil)
and the US would be willing to accept a
peace agreement

March 1941 – Hitler meets the
Japanese foreign minister
Matsuoka and urges Japan to
attack Singapore
◦ Hitler promises to assist Japan if their
actions in Asia cause a war with the US

After meeting with Hitler,
Matsuoka meets with Stalin and
signs a non-aggression pact
◦ Japan can now divert its resources
towards SE Asia

July 1941 – with the Japanese
takeover of Indo-China, the US
introduces an oil embargo and
freezes all Japanese assets in the
US
◦ August – total embargo on all war
related equipment


US demands that Japan leave
China (not Manchuria) and give
up on its Greater East Asia CoProsperity Sphere
PM Konoye wanted to avoid
war and liked the US proposal
◦ The militants wanted war


October – PM Konoye is
replaced by General Tojo
Nov. 3 – Japanese navy given
approval for a surprise attack
on Pearl Harbor
Causes of the
Mukden Incident
1928-32
Causes of the
Causes of Japan’s
Sino-Japanese War attack on Pearl
1933-37
Harbor
Nationalism
Militarism
Economic
situation in Japan
Situation in China
Actions of the
West
Conclusions
Complete this section
Political situation
in Japan
Essential Question
Examine the reasons for the USA’s change of
attitude towards Japan between 1931 and
1941
Learning Outcomes - Students will:
◦ Preview – who started WW2?
◦ Learn about the different historiography schools of
thought
◦ Relate historiography to their completed table from the
previous classes
Success Criteria
 I can fill out a table for the different
historiographical schools of thought


Who is responsible for
starting the war in the
Pacific?
How much blame
should the emperor of
Japan receive for
starting the war?





Left-wing Historian
Right-wing Historian
Orthodox
Revisionist
Traditionalist

Pg. 54~98
◦ Make sure you are adding
to
 Notes
 Essential Question
◦ IB Math
 Notes only = max 5
 Textbook only = max 5
 Notes + Textbook =
6~7
War
Began
Why
Historian
Left-Wing
Right-Wing
Orthodox
Revisionist
Traditionalist
Leave 3 lines
for each
category
When
Example: Pearl
Harbor

Left-wing

Right-wing
◦ War began: 1931
◦ Why: militarist capitalist clique
started the 15-year war
◦ Historian: Ikuhiko Hata – “The
Manchurian incident, the war in
China, and the war in the Pacific
should not be viewed separately but
as one continuous war”
◦ War began: Dec 1941
◦ Why: “Great East Asian War” – Japan
freeing Asia from Western
colonialism
 Ex. Without this, there would be no
independence movement after the war
◦ Historian: Masaaki Tanaka and
Hirofumi Hayashi

Orthodox
◦ When: 1937
◦ Why: Japanese war of
aggression and are solely
responsible for the war in the
Pacific
◦ Historian: Saburo Ienaga

Revisionist
◦ When: Dec 1941
◦ Why: Japan acted to purge
Western influence in Asia and
that US wanted war
◦ Historian: JH Boyle

Traditionalist
◦ Why: Emperor didn’t want war,
but he had no choice but to
follow the militarists
◦ Historian: Stephen Large

Revisionists
◦ Why: Emperor Hirohito
supported the expansionists and
could have stepped in and
stopped it at anytime, but chose
not to
◦ Historian: Sterling Seagrove
War
Began
Why
Historian
Example: Pearl Harbor
The capitalist-militarists in Japan wished to
expand their markets/colonies, but the US
was getting in the way of this
Left-Wing
Right-Wing
When
Why did
Pearl
Harbor
Happen?
Orthodox
Revisionist
Traditionalist
What was
the
emperor’s
role?
The emperor may have been aware of the
attack, but, following the constitution, did
not intervene with the gov’t’s decision
Causes of the
Mukden Incident
1928-32
Causes of the
Causes of Japan’s
Sino-Japanese War attack on Pearl
1933-37
Harbor
Militarism
Political situation
in Japan
Economic
situation in Japan
Situation in China
Actions of the
West
Conclusions
Who said war began here?
Nationalism
How could you
include
historiography in
your table?
What was the West’s reaction to Pearl
Harbor? Was it a surprise?