The German people resented the fact that they alone were blamed for the war. The job of creating a peace agreement seemed relatively simple, but it soon became clear that there were conflicting ideas and motives from each country. The United States wanted fair rules and
While the more sophisticated of the US advisers realised that the domino theory was too simplistic in an increasingly non-linear world, split not just by ideology but also historically through ethnic and nationalist conflict, this didn't mean that the USSR and China would exploit any weakness shown by the USA. Cold War Considerations: Western Europe and the USSR De Gaulle's France was challenging US leadership in both Vietnam and Europe. Anti-American riots tore through Panama which was merely the most obvious show of increasing hostility to the USA in the western hemisphere. There were fears that one of the two Communist superpowers might be tempted to use this, forcing the USA to get involved in other local conflicts against their will. Vietnam and the survival of the South were considered a central part of the maintenance of a stable world order, and LBJ in particular said that if Chinese aggression could be contained in South East Asia then it would “give the pole on
The idea of westward expansion was a good one because it would enable people to live in more room and to grow the population, however many northerners merely saw the idea of westward expansion to spread slavery. Polk’s ideas angered and worried the north and caused relations to break down further due to a lack of trust. At The very beginning of the Mexican war the north issued the Wilmot Doctrine that proposed that any territory gained from Mexico should exclude slavery. This was very unpopular in the south as they
It is commonly accepted that Germany were eager for a war, however in 1914 they were only responding to events in Sarajevo by agreeing to back Austria, as opposed to starting a war with no origin. The Germans also felt cheated by this treaty, because virtually none of Wilson’s ‘Fourteen Points’ had been included in it. On the 5th November 1918, Germany had accepted the Fourteen Points as the basis for peace and an armistice, however when the Treaty of Versailles was signed, the Fourteen Points had been largely forgotten. This shows Clemenceau’s’ and Frances’ determination to crush Germany as they were largely forced to accept charges that they knew would greatly weaken and inhibit them in the future as they tried to rebuild. Germany understood that they would have to ‘reduce weapon numbers’, however they did not expect to
The League of Nations was an organization thought of by Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of United States. He thought of the group of nations to be working together to maintain peace and balance throughout the world. He wanted the League to be based on his 14 idealistic points but was rejected as France wanted heavy compensation from Germany. Also America opposed on joining the league as they didn’t want to get involved in the business of Europe. This was the weakness of the league.
So for example if the allies in the west did not promise to rebuild Germany and try to stop every country from becoming communist when they threatened to even if it through fair vote (rare as it was). It can be argued that the cold war was an avoidable one. Firstly the Russians were very aggressive in creating a buffer zone and in fact created communist states practically all over Eastern Europe and made much more than a buffer zone and Stalin was at the heart of all these communist political movements and was trying to spread his influence to even Italy and France. This worried the west very much because they thought their very freedom was being threatened but more importantly the more states that became communist the less ttade there was. The west needed trade partners in the east and they couldn’t trade with communist states.
Was the Treaty of Versailles unfair on Germany? The Treaty of Versailles was essentially meant to be a peace treaty for all countries included in the first World War, but ended up causing huge amounts of conflict amongst Germany and the Allies as both saw the Treaty as completely different to each other, the Allies believing that Germany was treated fairly, whereas Germany thought she was treated unfairly and her punishments were unjust. The Germans certainly thought they had been treated unfairly because of several crucial reasons. Due to President Wilson’s fourteen points for a Just Peace, Germany assumed all these rules would to apply to herself as well as the other countries associated with the war. They expected to have open discussions with everyone involved to produce a treaty and that there would not be any secret treaties.
On the other hand, the anti-imperialists argued that it went against our American democracy and was harmful to the territories we were trying to acquire and our country itself. Even though they had a major difference, they had one similarity in that they both wanted the country to progress and become more successful through overseas expansion, just not using imperialismto justify it. Imperialist thought it was their duty to take over the smaller countries in order to save them from themselves because they were not fit for self government. Behind the imperialists were a plethora of people and they all supported it for multiple reasons. Blacks at the time liked the idea because it gave them an opportunity to serve their country and have perfect unity with the whites as well as patriotic unity for themselves (doc1).
In addition, the States had socially influenced Canada greatly, in terms of culture. Canada did gain some political independence, hampered by the fact that Canada depended on the United States for much of its social and economic success. Canada’s prime minister, Mackenzie King, did not follow the regular rules set by Britain. Instead he refused to send Canadian troops with Britain to invade Turkey in 1922. (Cranny p.55) Normally, when Britain went to war, Canada would automatically be at war as well, but King took a big step in not following orders from the mother country.
I could blame the defeat which would have been the result of my action on him and come out as Peacemaker…But I had a greater obligation than to think only of the years of my administration and of the next election. I had to think of the effect of my decision on the next generation and on the future of peace and freedom in America and in the world.” However, this idealistic standpoint was mere propaganda. In private, President Nixon would favour a more militant and aggressive approach. This contradictory position not only exposed Nixon’s vulnerability to public opinion, but also his disillusion and misunderstanding of the complexities of such a war. It is imperative to understand the factors which influenced President Nixon’s strategies and decision making during the Vietnam War.