DOCUMENT A: Japan Imperialism Re-examined by Howard Zinn (2004) In the 1930s, the kingdom of Japan...

 

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DOCUMENT A: “Japan Imperialism Re-examined" by Howard Zinn (2004) In the 1930s, the kingdom of Japan engaged in a project of imperial expansion into various areas of the Pacific and eastern Asia. The attack on Pearl Harbor and the war with the United States that followed was the final act in this saga. However, while Japan is often portrayed as an evil villain in this drama, there is a deeper historical context that needs to be taken into consideration. Since its first interactions with European powers, Japan was often manipulated and bullied into unfair trade agreements that kept their economy from developing. For example, in 1857 Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. forced the city of Tokyo to trade with the United States by threatening to fire a barrage of cannon fire on that city. In the 1930s, Japan sought to build a modern navy, a modern army, and a modern economy in order to protect itself from being the victim of further European and American aggression. Japan needed raw materials (e.g. oil and metal) to fuel its empire, so it traded with the United States. However, when Japan went to war with China in 1937, the United States cut off its oil and metal supply, which left Japan with little option but to expand into territories around it, like the Phillipines and Indochina (current-day Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia). The United States took the further aggressive measure of freezing Japan's assets in the United States – essentially stealing millions of dollars from the Japanese government and Japanese companies. In 1940, Japan signed a military agreement with Nazi Germany, fearing that the United States and Great Britain would overpower Japan if it did not have an ally. Choked off from its oil supply and fearing U.S. attack, Japan bombed the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, striking a major blow in a war that they considered to have already started. 1. What is the main idea of Document A? DOCUMENT A: “Japan Imperialism Re-examined" by Howard Zinn (2004) In the 1930s, the kingdom of Japan engaged in a project of imperial expansion into various areas of the Pacific and eastern Asia. The attack on Pearl Harbor and the war with the United States that followed was the final act in this saga. However, while Japan is often portrayed as an evil villain in this drama, there is a deeper historical context that needs to be taken into consideration. Since its first interactions with European powers, Japan was often manipulated and bullied into unfair trade agreements that kept their economy from developing. For example, in 1857 Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. forced the city of Tokyo to trade with the United States by threatening to fire a barrage of cannon fire on that city. In the 1930s, Japan sought to build a modern navy, a modern army, and a modern economy in order to protect itself from being the victim of further European and American aggression. Japan needed raw materials (e.g. oil and metal) to fuel its empire, so it traded with the United States. However, when Japan went to war with China in 1937, the United States cut off its oil and metal supply, which left Japan with little option but to expand into territories around it, like the Phillipines and Indochina (current-day Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia). The United States took the further aggressive measure of freezing Japan's assets in the United States – essentially stealing millions of dollars from the Japanese government and Japanese companies. In 1940, Japan signed a military agreement with Nazi Germany, fearing that the United States and Great Britain would overpower Japan if it did not have an ally. Choked off from its oil supply and fearing U.S. attack, Japan bombed the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, striking a major blow in a war that they considered to have already started. 1. What is the main idea of Document A?

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The main idea of the document is to give an alternative perspective about japan and explan... View the full answer