League Of Nations Dbq

1931 was the resuming of Japan invading China. With the world’s attention focused in Europe, Japan found it relatively easy to start invading China little by little. The League of Nations, although established right after the war, was doing nothing to prevent and/or punish the people that were involved in violating international law. International laws included restrictions on invading or conquering a foreign land. Japan, noticing the League of Nations was weak and was not enforcing international law, they went right ahead and picked up where they left off and began to cross over into China’s borders with the goal of conquering. For years the war between China and Japan raged on. Not only did Japan’s army take a heavy blow, but their economy

did as well. Japan had to look for external resources for supplies. Southwest Asia was the most convenient and fruitful area they spotted. At the same time Japan, although they were not the main focus of the news at the time, was being watched by the United States as the Japanese army started travelling and shifting their forces towards Southwest Asia. Southwest Asia contained Guam and the Philippines, both controlled the United States. Also, the United States managed to crack one their codes for secret messages. This turned the rumor of Japan’s taking over of Southwest Asia into fact.
Once the League of Nations turned their attention towards the Pacific, they placed economic sanctions, or restrictions for a country’s economy serving as a punishment, upon Japan. Although they were placed, they didn’t impact Japan whatsoever. However, the U.S. took actions themselves against Japan. They did not place economic sanctions, but they did indeed implement restrictions on what they would and wouldn’t trade. The U.S. at the time is what China is for us today : the leading manufacturing country of the world. More than half of the world’s products came out of the U.S at that time. Japan depended upon the many foreign resources and relations they had due to the fact that they were an island, making them desperate if their supply of foreign products was shortened. With Japan advancing towards the partly U.S. controlled Southwest Asia, and the world’s trading system in the hands of the U.S., they decided to stop trading two key products with Japan : oil and scrap metal.
The U.S.’s choice of these two products were no coincidence and were thought about thoroughly before making their final decision. War had been raging between Japan and China, and with equipment and supplies being used and destroyed at a rapid and constant rate, they were in dire need for new supplies. Oil and scrap metal were the two vital ingredients for the equipment within war. Scrap metal was used to build their tanks, planes, weapons, and ships. Their need for this product skyrocketed once the U.S. restricted it, and they had nowhere to turn to. Their second need and restriction was oil. Oil was used to manufacture and power their tanks, planes, weapons, and ships. Without oil they couldn’t power their weapons, and without scrap metal they couldn’t even build any new weapons.

Outrage spread across Japan. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto planned a surprise attack against the U.S., specifically their naval fleet in Hawaii. Yamamoto stated that it was “a dagger pointed at [Japan’s] throat”. The “dagger” had to be gone and not a threat to Japan any longer. On December 7, 1941, Japan launched an attack in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor. Explosions were everywhere in the harbor that day. 19 ships, including 8 battleships were sunk or damaged in two hours by the Japanese. The day and damage affected everyone in the U.S. The congress quickly passed the request for war on Japan and their allies. War with Japan proved to be a little more difficult than the U.S. anticipated. The geography of Japan was something that the navy had to maneuver around. The tiny islands that surrounded Japan were all militarized, but some were not as powerful as others. General Douglas McArthur of the United States solved the issue with a simple solution. Once the U.S. started to reach the islands that were owned/militarized by Japan, they would attack and conquer the less powerful/less armed ones. Once they got closer to Japan, they would strictly hop from island to island, hoping they would be able to have an advantage or have a good chance at winning against the Japanese. This proved to be an incredibly useful and effective way on their way to victory. Due to the “hopping” around all the time, this strategy adopted the name, “island hopping”.

Question 6 :

For centuries there have been disputes between China and Japan.

Battle after battle they have fought each other for land and superiority. However, in 1931, when Japan invaded China once more, there would be a line of consequences that would change history forever. The League of Nations, first proposed by Woodrow Wilson, was established in 1919. Although they were a working and established panel, they were not pressing any international laws or punishing anyone who violated those laws. There was a law restricting any nation to conquer or annex another nation/land. Japan, however, with the world’s eyes on Europe and the League not punishing anyone, Japan went ahead and invaded their neighbor and long rival, China. This act did not catch the League’s attention, but the West’s attention. They immediately placed economic sanctions in Japan. However, they would not work. Economic sanctions have never worked against another country. Countries have never been too affected by them. Japan, therefore, continued to invade

China.
Japan’s supplies were running low from the constant usage from the war, and they were in need of more.

They advanced towards Southwestern Asia where they could obtain great amounts of vital supplies. However, part of Southwest Asia was under the control of the U.S., and with Japan’s advancement in that direction, the U.S. felt threatened. Without taking the risk of them reaching there and taking supplies, the U.S. took action. They cut off two out of some of the most important items at the time. Oil and scrap metal. Scrap metal was used to build the planes, ships, tanks, and guns that they needed. Oil was used to transport the goods and actually to make the equipment run. Japan’s leading naval general, Admiral Yamamoto, suggested to bomb Pearl Harbor, a major harbor in Hawaii. He commented it was “a dagger pointed at [Japan’s] throat”. December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed by the

Japanese.
“A date that will live in infamy,” stated President Roosevelt. The bombing cut a scar into every single American that day, and the men that were there that morning and watched the bombing or saw the direct aftermath had their lives changed forever. Two hours had passed, and already 19 ships, 8 of those battleships, were destroyed. Thousands of men and women were terrified. 2,300 people died and 1,100 more were wounded. Roosevelt demanded that would America declare war on Japan. Japan’s decision of bombing America resulted in great consequences. What has been reflected on, is what would have happened if Yamamoto never went through or even mentioned bombing Pearl Harbor? Another question of whether or not it was wise for Yamamoto to bomb the harbor still remains even today.
I believe that this choice of bombing the U.S. was not a wise decision on Yamamoto’s part. By bombing Pearl Harbor, it would spark a fire of motivation and revenge against Japan. If he did not bomb Pearl Harbor, they would have still been shorted oil and scrap metal, which would have had major effects for the war they were having with China. By bombing Pearl Harbor, it turned the world’s attention towards Japan which is not what they wanted, for they were trying to keep the war that was going on with China quiet so that they could continue conquering. All in all, despite the fact that they would be shortened by lots of supplies, I do not think bombing Pearl Harbor was a wise decision simply because the U.S. fought back and they were more determined than ever to destroy Japan.