The League of Nations & the Manchurian Crisis (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History)
Revision Note
Causes of the Manchurian Crisis
Manchuria was a province of China
It bordered Korea, which Japan owned from 1905
It was mostly agricultural land
By March 1932, Japan invaded and controlled the whole of Manchuria
Examiner Tip
In your revision, it is helpful to consider the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors behind certain events. ‘Push’ factors are events or motivations for someone to act. The Depression caused the Japanese economy to fail due to the country’s lack of natural resources. This ‘pushed’ Japan to invade Manchuria. ‘Pull’ factors are benefits from performing an action. Japan already owned the South Manchurian Railway and other businesses in Manchuria. This ‘pulled’ Japan to invade Manchuria as they already had a way of moving around the country. Considering the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors will help you to explain why Japan invaded Manchuria and how this affected the League of Nations.
Events of the Manchurian Crisis
Consequences of the Manchurian Crisis
The League of Nations looked weak
The League considered the Lytton Report in February 1933, 18 months after Japan had invaded Manchuria
This was too slow to react to a crisis of this scale
Britain and France did not want to stand up against Japan
Japan was a permanent member of the League
It had equal power to Britain and France to veto any actions
Britain and France had colonies in the Far East
If the League started a war with Japan, it would affect Britain and France’s imperial trade
The League did not have key countries as members
The USA would have the military strength to stand up against Japan
In addition, the US was Japan’s key trading partner
The USSR did not want Japan to invade closer to its territory and would use force to stop this
The League’s lack of reaction encouraged further aggression
Germany and Italy were also looking to expand their territories
Hitler and Mussolini knew now that the League would not stop them from achieving their aggressive foreign policy aims
Worked Example
Study Source A. Why was this cartoon published at this time? Explain your answer using details of the source and your knowledge
8 marks
Source A: An American cartoon created in 1932 and republished in the Pittsburgh Press in 1933. The Nine-Power Treaty of 1922 recognised the territorial integrity of China
Partial answer:
The cartoon was published in 1932 to urge the League of Nations to take action against Japan (1). The cartoon shows Japan setting fire to various League of Nations treaties such as the Nine-Power Treaty (1922), which protected Chinese territory (1). Japan invaded Manchuria illegally through the Mukden Incident in 1931 but had captured the whole of Manchuria from China by March 1932 (1). The cartoon was published to put public pressure on the League to stand up against Japan’s aggressive actions (1).
Examiner Tip
This style of question in Paper Two needs you to consider:
What the message of the source is. Identify the event it is referring to and if it is presenting the event positively or negatively. In this example, the cartoonist has drawn about the Manchuria Crisis in a negative way
Knowledge of the event. This cartoon assumes that the reader knows about the Kellogg-Briand Pact, the Nine-Power Treaty and Japan’s actions in Manchuria. Add relevant own knowledge of these events to support your answer
The purpose of the cartoon. The cartoon is published in an American newspaper. The cartoonist knew that the USA was not in the League. However, the image could be distributed around the world. This would increase public pressure on the League to stand up against Japan
The World Disarmament Conference, 1932
During the Manchuria Crisis, the League hosted the World Disarmament Conference
The event took place in Geneva, Switzerland
It ran from 1932 to 1934
The Manchuria Crisis affected the success of the conference
It proved the weakness of the League against countries with a large military force like Japan
This only encouraged countries to pursue a policy of militarism
The World Disarmament Conference ended in failure in 1934
Weimar politicians challenged all countries to disarm to the level of Germany
France disagreed with Germany’s proposal
Hitler became the leader of Germany in 1933
He promised to not rearm Germany if all countries destroyed their weapons in five years
Hitler was already secretly rearming Germany
France, Czechoslovakia and Poland feared for their safety as they bordered Germany. They refused Hitler’s offer
Hitler used this as an excuse to leave the League of Nations in November 1933
Why was the Failure of the World Disarmament Conference Important?
The League was inactive
It took ten years for the League to assemble world leaders to discuss disarmament
More countries became aggressive
Japan and Germany were no longer members of the League
Militarism and rearmament began in many countries
Worked Example
Why did Hitler take Germany out of the League of Nations in 1933?
6 marks
Partial answers:
One reason why Hitler took Germany out of the League is the issue of disarmament (1). Hitler was angry that no other country had disarmed to the extent that Germany had been forced to in the Treaty of Versailles (1). During the World Disarmament Conference, Hitler challenged the other countries to disarm within five years (1). European countries refused, allowing Hitler to argue that Germany was being treated differently to other countries. Europe’s reluctance to disarm gave Hitler the perfect excuse to leave the League of Nations in November 1933 (1).
Examiner Tip
In Paper One, ‘explain why’ questions are worth either six or ten marks. For full marks in this question, an examiner is looking for two fully explained reasons as to why Hitler left the League of Nations.
To complete this answer, you could discuss Hitler’s desire to rearm or how the League had not reacted to Japan’s withdrawal from the organisation.
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