HW #3

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

A political cause of WWII related to this reading could be Japan's land-hunger and the weakness of the LN. The invasion of Manchuria shows, for one, the weakness of the League of Nations: Japan was a leading member of the LN, but that didn't stop it from invading one of the other leading members, China. Furthermore, it shows the desire for land that was also a problem with Germany. There wasn't enough genuine desire for peace, and apparently there wasn't enough threat of retribution. All of these things are political problems. No member of the LN wanted to take economic or military sanctions against Japan, so the LN had to try to use persuasion; however, before anything could be done, Japan resigned from the League, rendering it powerless in the situation.

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

An economic cause of WWII related to this reading could be Japan's invasion of Manchuria and the LN's inaction. Japan invaded Manchuria in part because of economic things: The "territory is more than three times as large [as Japan]...but [was] inhabited by only one third as many people...its wealth of forestry, minerals and agricultural products [was] also unrivaled elsewhere in the world". Japan had a lot to gain in the long run if it had Manchuria. Britain, one of several nations that essentially "controlled" the LN, would not enforce an economic boycott because Japan would declare war and seize Hong Kong and Singapore, Britain's major ports in Asia. So the LN was unable to do anything because it wasn't truly looking out for world's best interests; it was too controlled by several nations.


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

An ideological cause of WWII that could be related to the reading is Japan, Germany and Italy's hatred of communism. In 1936 the Comintern ordered communists the world over to join with other political parties to help stop the spread of fascism. In response, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact that said they would oppose Communism and "consult with each other if either was attacked or threatened by the USSR." Italy joined in 1937, which made it so that the 3 most aggressive countries in the 1930s were allied with each other.

4. Answer question A from Chapter 8.

A)

1. I think that the rising sun represents Japan.

2. The dark clouds in the foreground represent the looming threat of Japan's power. Japan claims that their rise is a good thing, with "Asia for the Asians", etc., but for Western powers it is a threat to their sovereignty.

3. I think that the point the cartoonist is trying to make it that Japan's rise, though supposedly a rising sun and a new day, is really bringing war and death and destruction to the world. It begins with the invasion of China, but the dark clouds over the rest of the world and the rays convey that it will spread.

5. Answer question B from Chapter 8.

B)

1. I cannot tell from the picture what is on the family's sled, so I don't know what kind of a family it is.

2. The family was probably leaving Shanghai because of the effects of Japan's Chinese invasion. The living conditions were terrible, because the "looting, rape, torture, murder and pointless destruction", so obviously the family would be trying to get away - perhaps to the countryside where the Chinese Communists were still in power, for the most part. The family would be carrying their possessions because it might be all that was left of what they owned. They probably weren't planning to go back, so they would of course bring what they had left to them.