Japan...Totalitarian? hmmmmm.

Being totalitarian can be described as the form of government that does not tolerate different ideas or opinions and has dictatorial control over their people. During this time, Japan had Hirohito as their emperor. This alone point to the fact that their was a single ruler who had control over the people. Although the government had police with strict laws and penalties, it was not a complete secret. At this point in time, Japan was very focussed around their military. As their government began to lose to power, the military stayed strong because of the use of propaganda and because of their success. They were able to take control over Korea which gave the people of Japan a sense of strength and stability. Despite treaties and other agreements with nations such as the U.S. (which did not want Japan to grow their army), Japan chose to spend the time and money to grow their army and navy to a point where they were the 3rd largest navy in the world.

I think that Japan could be described as totalitarian. They had an emperor with complete control and a military with even more control. They captured the trust of their people with their ability to win battles and conquer nations.

Is Japan Totalitarian?

Japan had a constitutional monarchy and allowed males to vote. They also had the military dominate and take over during the times of the Depression. Then they began making people follow the emperor and they changed education and society became very nationalistic. They tried not to be totalitarian but they ended up turning into a totalitarian society in the end. They tried to give the people a voice and they passed male suffrage or the right to vote for males in 1925 and they had leaders of the groups of people and they expanded education. They westernized and that influenced their government and made them less focussed on complete control coming from the government or one major power. Then the Great Depression highly impacted society. The people lost their jobs and their lives became worse and worse. They decided to blame their dissatisfaction on the new rulers and the west because of their influence. Organizations were formed and they were small parties or groups of people with strong nationalism and they wanted change in their lives. They wanted to return to their old ways where they were all ruled under the emperor and the emperor was the leader and only main power source. They ended up going back but military authorities also had some control. I think that they were not totalitarianism but they tried to go back and make it like that but they were not completely totalitarianism.

Information from...

Strayer, Robert. Ways of the World. p. 642-644

Ms. Xia (in class discussion March 09, 2010)

Is Japan Totalitarian?

Just like all of the other countries outside the United States, Japan was hit hard by the Great Depression because of the foreign trade between America and Japan. At the time, Japan did not have just one person, like an emperor, in charge of everyone. So instead they had a small group of military leaders who basically took over the government. The definition of Totalitarianism is a type of government that has full control of all of the citizens lives. An example of how Japan was indeed ran that way was the government arrested critics, imposed censorship, and employed a secret police force to hunt down and punish enemies of the state. In addition to arresting critics, imposing censorship, and a secret police, the so called government planned to also strengthen Japan in any way that they could. Their final decision for succession was making an overseas empire in the country of Manchuria, which used to be the home of the Manchus. Having a empire across seas made it easier to get raw materials such as coal and oil. Usually when a country invades another country someone condemns, the League of Nations was disapproving of the idea, but let them do it as they pleased. In addition, Japan had a Totalitarian government was because they honestly had nothing else to choose from. People had lost their homes, money, everything and so when there was some sign of hope for a government the people gave it a shot which is how and why Totalitarianism worked after World War 1.






Citation: http://fresno.k12.ca.us/divdept/sscience/history/totalitarianism.htm

extra credit

I think we can all agree that the current government in the U.S. is far from perfect. However, Im sure as to what the perfect system would be. There should be a balance between freedoms and control by the government. I partially agree with Cy. The idea of taxes makes sense, however, it does not seem to work for the majority of the population. This becomes especially difficult as the government begins to raise them. This is why it makes more sense to have people pay directly for services provided by the government. Instead of the government charging a certain percent on income to cover all of the the amenities provided by them, it makes more sense to pay for each thing individually and how often you use it. This keeps the government from taking your money and using it for many things we do not know about. It makes more sense to know where your money is going instead of not seeing where it goes or not seeing it used for things you use.

WWI

Italy did not have a good experience in World War I. Although they originally were undecided amongst the war, they ended up having huge losses. It is not surprising to see why Italy would be very upset. They fought and lost many men, but ended up on the winning side. However, they received none of the winnings such as land. Not only this, but inflation took a toll on the italian people; causing many job losses. However, Italy had a strong economy and did not suffer much from this.

In the beginning America was doing well. People used leverage to make much more money then they could have imagined. They continued to borrow and borrow money. Unknowingly, this led to the depression because of the stock market crashing and eventually a large amount of inflation. Eventually people had to borrow money from banks leaving them in debt as well as causing banks to shut down. This meant that people's money was not safe, if you had $1000 in the bank, that money was pretty much gone. So people tried to withdraw large amounts (or all) of their money. As this went on, people spent less money and did not buy stuff, keeping the money from circulating.

The Outcomes of Italy and France in World War I.

France:

The outcome of france ending the war was that the people of france got to go back to being an independent nation meaning that the war did not effect their independence which was a great success for France. Their new attitude was filled with excitement and they were ever so proud of France as a whole. The nationalism in france was also very strong and people were proud to say they lived in france. Also France went into the war looking for revenge and they accomplished their goals, so to come out of a war with your goals accomplished you are much happier then when you fail.

Italy:

Italy on the other hand had many more deaths around 1918, 600,000 italians dead to be exact. THe people of italy were on the winning side when the war ended but still the outcome was not looking to bright. Many job positions were cut and inflation occurred so people we fired and jobless. The Italians were essentially ripped off and not given what was promised to them, france Britain and germany received most of the earnings. The dishonnestnest was not forgiven in Versailles and to this day the Italians know they were ripped off.

Italy and Germany

Italy: In terms of Italy's World War experience, they were passive. Italy had a stance that was borderline "Watch the others fight" and "Take action once we know how this war is going". Italy was divided between the socialists and the nationalists. The nationalists, like Mussolini, were against the war and thought that action should be taken, while the socialists wanted to stand down and see the war's turnout. But it 1915, there was the Secret Treaty of London sent from Britain, that offered Italy land if they were to join the Entente. Italy could not refuse such a deal, so they took it and switched sides.
The Great Depression in Italy was seen as a small loss, but did not harm the well being of Italy's economy. Italy lost its international trade networks, but was able to maintain their jobs and stabilize the workflow.

Germany: During the war Germany was a strong warring power, but were not strong enough to fight the Entente's final push aided by the Americans. Germany did in fact though develop strong military weaponry that influenced many other great powers at the time. But in the end they were forced to weaken their military forces and give up parts of their land. In terms of the great depression, Germany was hit as hard as any other country during its time. Germany lacked the strong economical foothold, and lost much, just as the other countries did.




Sources:
Italy: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~quadrini/papers/deprpap.pdf
Germany: In Class information

Germany and America: Outcomes of WWI and the Depression

Germany:

A the end of the war, they lost a lot. They lost 10% of their land, their military was cut down, and they had to pay reparations for all the winners of the war on top of their own. Germany however could not pay for the reparations and got loans from the US. Germany unlike most of the world however did not suffer much from the Depression. This was because of Hitler who did a great job with controlled wages and prices, government investment, and peace between the capital and laborers.

America:

In America with the end of the war came a new social and cultural change. Women gained the right to vote and also middle class women became known as flappers. Flappers would go to nightclubs, smoke, had short hair, drink heavily, and wear more revealing clothing. They were the beginning to a new era. The war in a way broke America from their old traditional ways. However the Depression caused a great turmoil. When the stock market crashed it was chaotic banks closed down, many people lost their jobs. And because of this any farmer or producer lost a lot too because the prices were too high because everyone seemed to have lost their money due to the banks shutting down. This also caused a lot of farmers produce to go to waste. The President Franklin Roosevelt however tried to end this calamity with a plan called the New Deal.

All my information came from two source:
Strayer
Notes from class

WWI Nations: Germany and America

Germany:

Then they established the Reichstag Parliament. They had lost a lot through the Treaty of Versailles like limited military, lost 10% of land, war reparation of 30 billion dollars, and lost colonies to Britain. The war dues they had to pay were what caused hyper-inflation and that is what lead to the depression. Germany was under the Weimar Republic when they overthrew the Kaiser in November of 1918 and they negotiated an armistice. This was like Russia's armistice that we have previously learned about. The Weimar Republic was what ended the hyper-inflation because of new currency. It also included Dawe's plan which was for America to lend Germany money so they could pay back their war reparations. Hitler later rose to power because he talked about ways to get out of tough living situations like jobs or money. This appealed to the WWI veterans and the workers because they were struggling the most during this time. Hitler was put in jail but he wrote Mein Kampf or "My Struggle" and this basically blamed the Jews and made them the scapegoat and he said that the "Aryan" race was superior.

America:

For America, the war had created new opportunities in a sense for them. Women were given the right to vote (Women's Suffrage) and there was a new rising middle class and they had a lot of leverage going on with money. They would pay $1o dollars for example and get a bank loan for $90 and then they would sell things for more so they would increase their money by a large percent. This lead to the Great Depression because when the stock market crashed people lost money instead of gaining more from selling. They were having to sell at a lower price than what they bought it for and therefore they were in debt because their borrowed money from the banks but they couldn't pay it back. That lead to banks shutting down and people losing their money because the banks simply didn't have it. Then people decided to start taking their money out of the banks so that they wouldn't lose their money but that only made it worse. Then people didn't spend as much so people weren't getting paid as much and so they lost their jobs and wouldn't buy as much and it became a vicious cycle. It was a bad recession or called a depression. This lead to the decision of finding alternative ways of government.

Sources:

notes from Ms. Xia in class (02-24-10 & 02-26-10)

Italy vs All Other Nations

Italy was a very interesting country to focus on while studying World War I. They switched sides during the first couple months of the war which benefited them very much since they ended up on the side with the most "winnings". First off, they waited a while to join the war because they wanted to make sure that the chose the right side. In the Treaty of London Britain had offered Italy large sections of territory in the Adriatic Sea region. Such an offer was too tempting for Italy to refuse. Britain and France wanted Italy to join in on their side so that a new front could open up to the south of the Western Front. In the end, Italy didn't even get half of what the Treaty said and got the least of the good things that all the other countries received.

Citation: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/italy_and_world_war_one.htm

Primary Document from WWI

Memoirs & Diaries - The German Gas Attack at Ypres, April 1915

Utterly unprepared for what was to come, the [French] divisions gazed for a short while spellbound at the strange phenomenon they saw coming slowly toward them.

Like some liquid the heavy-coloured vapour poured relentlessly into the trenches, filled them, and passed on.

For a few seconds nothing happened; the sweet-smelling stuff merely tickled their nostrils; they failed to realize the danger. Then, with inconceivable rapidity, the gas worked, and blind panic spread.

Hundreds, after a dreadful fight for air, became unconscious and died where they lay - a death of hideous torture, with the frothing bubbles gurgling in their throats and the foul liquid welling up in their lungs. With blackened faces and twisted limbs one by one they drowned - only that which drowned them came from inside and not from out.

Others, staggering, falling, lurching on, and of their ignorance keeping pace with the gas, went back.

A hail of rifle fire and shrapnel mowed them down, and the line was broken. There was nothing on the British left - their flank was up in the air. The northeast corner of the salient around Ypres had been pierced. From in front of St. Julien away up north toward Boesinghe there was no one in front of the Germans.

Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. III, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

Extra Credit Post: Secondary Source About Project

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/origins_01.shtml

One point this source makes about the Causes of WWI, is that there are many theories about the German's initial involvement the war. Many people believe that the Germans had been planning for an all out attack on the allied forces long before the war had even broke out. Historians believe this because the leaders of Germany had met roughly 18 months before the war, and it was clear that Wilhelm and many of his advisers were, to say the least, feeling particularly aggressive, and inclined to potentially spark a war.

Thomas Edward Shirley - Background + Analysis

Robert Shirley found his father, Thomas Edward Shirley's World War I diary. In 1916, Thomas and many other Dartmouth undergraduates were drafted into the French Ambulance Corps. They duty was to Today, men and women are not allowed to keep diaries but in 1917, they were. When on the battlefield, men would split into groups to complete different tasks.

The ambulance groups experienced much of what the soldiers were. They woke up very early, and they immediately were assigned to the trenches. The men viewed the scenes of broken buildings and destroyed cities. During this time, they used black men to repair bridges. Around the trenches were multiple graves. The sight was terrible. Overall, these troops had a good look into the war and experienced the aftermath of combat.

Jack Morris Wright

In Boston New work

Founded at http://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/memoir/Wright/Jack1.htm

This is a picture of Thomas E. Shirley. I am unsure when this was taken.

Citation:
http://www.dartmouth.org/classes/57/tes00.htm

WWI Battles and Burials

This picture shows the aftermath of just one small battle during WWI. These are a few out of the millions of soldiers that were killed and had to be buried.

George Ludovic Alexander Picture

Here is a picture of George Ludovic Alexander.

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Here is a picture of a soldier during World War I and he is sad and sitting in an area that had been destroyed. Many soldiers were traumatized by this and suffered from shell shock which cause many to want to go home. I thought that this related to my diary entry because George wanted to go home as did many soldiers at the time. In the poem that I blogged about in the beginning he talked about after the dark there always comes light and I really admired his positive outlook. In this picture the soldier seems as if he is in the "dark" or the rough times and George's thoughts were that later he would eventually come out and arrive back in a positive and happy environment.

Pictures found at:

http://www.awm.gov.au/visit/images/PAIU1989_140_01_1.jpg

http://www.webmousepublications.com/itow/gla/gla-1918.gif

Museum Plaque

Floyd GIbbons was nothing but a simple man "armed with a pencil and notebook". He was writing about the war and found himself in the heat of a great battle. Sadly, he was not as lucky as any other soldier in the midst of battle. He was running towards the opposition with machine guns being fired at him in a mad flurry. He was able to dodge most of this attack, but was hit in the shoulder, and when a bullet ricocheted off a rock, he was hit in the eye. He was still pulling himself along before the last bullet but he was soon knocked back. He described a sensation of glass breaking upon the impact. He did not go unconscious, but thought that he was dead. He was forced to pinch himself to see if he really did still live. His eye was torn in half, but he did keep his life.

Analysis of John Bruce Cairnie

John Bruce Cairnie, born of September 22, 1889 in Thurso, Caithness, was the son of Davide Dandie Cairnie, and Mary Bruce Wilson. He attended the Miller Institute in Thurso, and later to Edinburgh University, where he graduated M.A. in 1911 and B.Sc. in 1912. He then attended teachers' college.
In October 1917 he sailed to join the 3/4 King's African Rifles as a lieutenant. He kept a diary from then on until January 1919 as he sailed for home.

On January 26, 1915, he was doing a platoon drill and bayonet fighting, and ammunition, preparing for the war. The soldiers had been leaving on random destinations, and some people were hopeful that they would be brought to Edinburgh Castle or Inverness. After his afternoon parade he found himself and two of his fellow soldiers on a similar mission. A man named Russel, and Jim Matheson were selected to go with him. They paraded for 15 minutes, before realizing that they were supposed to do picket duty at the Herring Green crossroads with orders to stop all cars and take inventory.

Analysis of Stapleton Tench Eachus

I am penning these as I find myself sitting at one of the dining tables at the Salvation Army rest for soldiers in London, Blighty. Am on my way back to France after 14 days furlough and seven days extension which was granted to me by the Royal Engineer Records Chatham. I left Stafford this morning with my little boy at 11.37 am and went first to Warwick where I left Derrick in the care of Mr. and Mrs. Kendrick at 48 Avon Street. I think that these forced partings from the little chap, who is so dear to me, have caused me deeper and more cruel pain, than all other pains that I have known. If there is such a thing as love in this world, it must be surely just like that, how little Dux is loved by me. Left Warwick at 5.58 pm and arrived at Paddington at 9.10 pm. Took a bus to Victoria station and passed by the Marble Arch and Saint James Park, which was profusely decorated with flags and bunting in honour I suppose of the visit of the American president, who arrived today. At Victoria station went into the free buffet, and had a sandwich and cup of tea. Wreaths in the evergreen and other laurel decorations were hanging up everywhere and welcome greetings to the soldiers were emblazoned in large letters upon the walls, one inscription ran something like this “We pray for all who have died and we thank all for bringing us victory and peace” another ran “Welcome home the nation thanks you”. Was directed by a gentleman to board a small motor lorry, which had two seats down the centre and a roof, something after the style of the well known Irish “stage coach”. This vehicle took a party of us to the pace where I am now and where I have engaged a bed no 182 for the night for the price of half a shilling.

This diary was written by Stapleton Tench Eachus, who was a British soldier. He was born in Stafford, England in 1889. After finishing school, Stapleton joined the post office where he worked until 1910, he then enlisted with the South Staffordshire Regiment before moving to the Warwickshire Yeomanry. Stapleton fought with the Warwickshire Yeomanry in Egypt before he transferred to the Royal Engineer's Signals. Stapleton was sent to France in 1916, and over the next 3 years, he wrote in tiny notepads a set of 15 diaries about his adventures in the Great War, which was what Worl War 1 was called. The diary entry above was written in 1918, when Stapleton was at rest at Salvation Army. He is talking about how he recently visited his family, and discussing his reception by the general public.

At the start of the entry, Stapleton writes "Many months have elapsed since last I made any notes", which shows how little time soldiers have for anything while at war. Every minute they have to be alert and ready for battle, so obviously Stapleton has not had time lately to do something he enjoys, which is writing in his diary. He also writes about visiting his family for two weeks. He seemed really excited about the visit, but also upset that he had to leave his family once again. He described his little boy, and I could feel the sadness radiating from the entry as he left his child. He writes, "I think that these forced partings from the little chap, who is so dear to me, have caused me deeper and more cruel pain, than all other pains that I have known. If there is such a thing as love in this world, it must be surely just like that, how little Dux is loved by me." Out of all of the suffering, pain, and death he has seen in his life as a soldier, the pain that hurts him the most is the pain of leaving his boy. This shows how little he got to see his family, and how long the soldier has to be away from his family. Finally, at the end of his entry, Stapleton describes the welcome he got from the public. There were wreaths and signs that said “We pray for all who have died and we thank all for bringing us victory and peace” another ran “Welcome home the nation thanks you”. This shows the support system the soldiers had in the war, as well as the nationalism displayed during the war. The country was proud of the soldiers representing it, so it used many different obvious signs and decorations to showcase this.