Failures of Diplomacy

Japanese-American Relations Growing Strained US objected to Japanese encroachments in Asia 1915, Japan issued their Twenty-one Demands Virtually bring China under Japanese rule US protested and Japan backed down from their more rigorous demands 1917, Viscount Kikujiro Ishii visited Washington to secure American recognition for Japanese interest in Asia Secretary of State Robert Lansing entered into an agreement with Ishii recognizing Japan’s special interest in China Only way to maintain the facade of friendship

1921, President Harding invites 8 principle world powers to conference in Washington Work to prevent an armaments race Secretary of State Charles Evan Hughes announced “the best way to end an armaments race is to end it now.” 1922, US, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy signed Five Power Treaty Imposes limits on building up navies and fortification of Pacific possessions Partitioned the world US naval power in the Western Hemisphere Japan the power in Western Pacific British the power from North Sea to Singapore Four Power Treaty – (US, GB, JP, and FR) agreed to respect one another’s possessions in the Pacific, agreed to consult one another but not offer military aide Nine Power Treaty pledged the signers support of the Open Door Policy for pursuing trade in China, each have equal opportunity Recognize the territorial integrity of China Signed additionally by China, Belgium, Portugal, and the Netherlands

The Kellogg-Braid Pact Idea of abolishing war appealed to America after WWI Signed on August 27, , French foreign minister Aristide Briand proposed an agreement with US Secretary of State Frank Kellogg whereby the two countries would never go to war with one another Kellogg not receptive, in turn suggested that all nations sign the pact Also known as the Paris Pact Declared that signers “condemn recourse to war… and renounce it as an instrument of national policy.” 62 nations adhere to the pact but reserved self defense as an escape hatch US senate included the preservation of the Monroe Doctrine

Collapse of German Reparations 1931, President Hoover negotiated a moratorium on both German reparations and Allied payment of war debts To shore up American private loans, kept the international credit structure intact Realizing the connection between Ally war debt and German reparations they cancelled reparation payments 1932, Hoover’s debt moratorium ended European countries defaulted on their war debts to the US Johnson Debt Default Act of 1934 – prohibited even private loans to any government that had defaulted on its debts to the US

As Europe heated up America retreated deeper into isolation Shocked by the findings of the Senate inquiry into banker and munitions manufacturers involvement in WWI Claimed made scandalous profits of the war 1935, FDR signed first of five neutrality laws intended to keep US out of war, The Neutrality Act Forbade the sale of arms and munitions to all warring nations Americans who travelled on belligerent ships did so at their own risk 1936, extended the arms embargo and added the proviso forbidding loans to nations at war FDR sought another “moral embargo” and asked congress to extend neutrality laws to cover civil wars, in 1937 Western democracies then stood by as Hitler and Mussolini sent money and armaments to support Franco’s overthrow of the Spanish Government, Franco ultimately successful in , Neutrality Law Maintained restraints on arms sales and loans Forbade Americans to travel on ships of nations at war Prohibited the arming of US merchant ships trading with those nations President won discretionary authority to require that goods be sold on a cash-and-carry basis Buyer pay cash and carry goods away in their own ships