Britain and France showed no resistance due to the appeasement policy followed by the countries’ governments. Britain had several reasons for not opposing the remilitarization such as it believed the treaty had been harsh on Germany. It also believed that the people would not support another war and it was not prepared for an offensive. Britain worried that if its attention was diverted to another war, it would not be able to control its widespread empire and thus lose colonies. France did not support the remilitarization but could not react as, it could not predict the strength of the German army and it knew that nor Britain nor USA would go to war.
The United States got involved in the Vietnam War from 1954 -1964 to prevent and contain communism. In Vietnam, an independence movement under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh rose to challenge French rule. The United States helped France by giving financial and military aid. The US had moral and ethical reasons to stand up and face unethical leaders that oppressed other weaker people and to contain the spread of communism. Communism is horrible because the government controls every move you make and you have no say in what happens in your life.
Therefore, the Vietnam War can be said to be part of the Cold War due to the Americans acting upon their policy of containment and fear of the Domino Theory. However, the Vietnam War can be said to not be part of the Cold War due to its origins not being from communist and capitalist disputes, this is simply why the US became involved. Unlike other events in the Cold War, for example the Berlin Airlift (where Stalin blockaded East Berlin from the West due to the prosperity stemming from capitalism in West Berlin and Germany) and the Korean war (where the communist north attacked the South that was occupied by a US military administration, therefore making it anti-communist). The origins the Vietnam War were due to unresolved Vietnamese problems, for example the creation of a power vacuum due to the withdrawal of France in March 1954. This led to the Geneva Agreements, where Vietnam was divided along the 17th Parallel.
In a democracy along the lines of the United States or Great Britain, Hitler could have never risen to power. (1) Germany had no democratic tradition, and in fact many parties were deeply opposed to the creation of a democracy. These included old monarchists, the Army, the industrialists, the Nationalists and several other conservative parties. Many, like the Nazis to come, were not so much members of the Republic as they were conspirators to overthrow it. When it came time to create the Republic, the conservative parties took no part in the process.
Staling needed to distract the US from the Soviet Union and therefore hinted at Kim that he should invade the south. Korea was not in the defensive perimeter strategy set by Dean Acheson in January 1950. It was viewed as a third world country and posted no real threat to America. However at the time there was a ‘Red Scare’ which was a result of McCarthyism and dislike towards the communists. Therefore when the north invaded the south the US felt as though they needed to intervene because they could not let communism spread.
This meant that if one country fell to communism so would the ones around it. He sent in the first military advisers. They was a peace agreement in Geneva, which set up four countries. However, the US refused to hold elections in the South because they thought that the Communists might win. So instead they supported Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam.
However, despite Wilson's efforts, Congress rejected multilateralism because Great Britain, one of the US's strongest allies, disapproved. To protect its colonial interests, Britain created the Sterling Bloc – or the Commonwealth – which reduced tariffs on British colonies 2 1 Freeland, Richard M., The Truman Doctrine and the Origins of McCarthyism, New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1970, Print. 2 Ibid., p. 15-17. 3
The War of 1812 is also considered an unnatural war because the Treaty of Ghent ended the war but resolved none of the issues that started it. The Embargo and the Non-Intercourse Act, which had the purpose of establishing self-sufficiency for the U.S. and improving its economy, further weakened America and deepened the conflict with Britain. The British reasons to wage war against America were that it had chosen France as a trading partner. Failing in peaceful efforts and facing an economic depression, some Americans began to argue for a declaration of war to redeem the national honor. The Congress that was elected in 1810 and met in November 1811 included a group known as the War Hawks who demanded war against Great Britain.
However source 16 disagrees and states that the British themselves were reluctant to grant India independence. When the British PM, Neville Chamberlain, declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, followed him. He was acting just within the limits of his legal powers to do this without consulting any Indians. This indicated that Britain was still behaving as a master and called into question any of its previous concessions. This furthered the Indian’s desire for independence but they were still faced with the challenges of overcoming the divisions within India.
The Treaty of Versailles was a compromise, and it completely satisfied nobody. Georges Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France, did not get everything he wanted out of the Treaty. He was satisfied with clause 231 (which blamed Germany for the war), the disarmament clauses of the Treaty (reducing the army to 100,000, only 6 battleships, no air force or submarines), getting back Alsace-Lorraine, and being given German colonies as mandates on behalf of the League of Nations. But even this did not go far enough. Clemenceau had wanted Germany weakened to the point where it would never be a danger to France ever again.