Write short notes on Japan and the League of Nations.
Answers
The League of Nations has its origins in the Fourteen Points speech of President Woodrow Wilson, part of a presentation given in January 1918 outlining of his ideas for peace after the carnage of World War I. Wilson envisioned an organization that was charged with resolving conflicts before they exploded into bloodshed and warfare.
By December of the same year, Wilson left for Paris to transform his 14 Points into what would become the Treaty of Versailles. Seven months later, he returned to the United States with a treaty that included the idea for what became the League of Nations.
Republican Congressman from MassachusettsHenry Cabot Lodge led a battle against the treaty. Lodge believed both the treaty and the League undercut U.S. autonomy in international matters.
In response, Wilson took the debate to the American people, embarking on a 27-day train journey to sell the treaty to live audiences but cut his tour short due to exhaustion and sickness. Upon arriving back in Washington, D.C., Wilson had a stroke.
Congress did not ratify the treaty, and the United States refused to take part in the League of Nations.