Wilhelm II, German Emperor Quotes
It is evident to every unbiased mind that Korea must be and will be Russian..
Russia was expansionistic even before the 1914 Russian Revolution with the Communists prevailing. I this case, they had designs on Korea. However, so did Japan and the two would fight in the Russo-Japanese War. Of course neither were concerned with what the Koreans wanted which was independence.
Wilhelm II, 1859-1941, Emperor of Germany & King of Prussia, Letter to his cousin, the Czar of Russia, 1904
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Japan, then a militaristic power in the East had occupied and controlled Manchuria after the Russo-Japanese War. The League of Nations voted that Manchuria should be placed under international control until elections and independence can be arranged. The Japanese then had a rapidly growing population and Japan felt that the Japanese Islands were not sufficient to produce the raw materials, oil and agriculture needed to sustain a larger Japanese population. Therefore, the Japanese argued that they were entitled to grow and expand to nearby territories to provide for their nation’s needs. When the league of nations rejected the Japanese position, Japan walked out of the League of Nations. Japan would occupy part of China and Korea all leading to WWII. See {627075} for the foreign minister’s later assessment.
She and her husband, like many of the "America Firsters", believed that Hitler should be allowed to overrun Europe and Russia.
The previous year the Japanese had committed to maintaining the independence of Korea. ({613110}). The Japanese then abrogated their treaty, forced Sunjong to abdicate, assassinated his wife, and annexed the country.
He conquered Korea in an act of blatant aggression, but got bogged down in a complicated occupation. He died before the Chinese part of the plan could be carried out. However, ever since China, Korea and other Asian countries have distrusted Japan and her aggressive intentions and history. The horrible Japanese record of aggression and atrocities of WWII solidified that anti-Japanese sentiment which still exists to some extent.
At the time, the major European countries were in a competitive scramble for colonies in Africa—so much so that there were very few independent territories left. The maps and borders of Africa were really decided by the Europeans.
The Japanese Government was in the control of ardent militarists intent on expanding the Japanese empire. They invaded Manchuria and had designs on China. The League of Nations was very weak, in large part because the United States had not joined when the Senate refused to ratify the treaty. So peace or war In Asia depended on the fascist, military clique that ruled Japan.
The final decision regarding the attack on Pearl Harbor and war with America had to be made. The Emperor Hirohito, Prime Minister Tojo, the full cabinet and leading elder statesmen were invited. Hara attended as one of the latter class. America had instituted an embargo of critical raw material whose end was contingent of Japan withdrawing from the territory that they had invaded and stop their territorial aggression in Asia, an aggression which some Japanese leaders—notably the military—was absolutely necessary to provide for the growing Japanese population and its increasing standard of living. At the time, an embargo was a powerfully effective weapon, which left Japan only two choices: Withdrawal or War. In modern times nations have chosen to endure and evade embargoes rather than be forced into undesirable positions.
Even in modern times many politicians the world over agree with Davis’s point that for a government to function well, the nation must have a homogenous citizenship. This is especially true of dictatorships where control of a uniform culture and populous is easier than if it is diverse nation. In modern times, the three greatest economic and scientific powers, the United States, The Soviet Union, and China were and are multicultural societies with different ethnicities, races, religions, and cultures among their sitizenry.
They were both children of Queen Victoria of England.
The Russians, who had invaded Afghanistan successfully, then proceeded to lose Afghanistan.
Despite the fact that there were no formal political polls at the time, public opinion was very influential in curtailing what might be a tendency to use of the American military. Starting with the Cold War later, Presidents tended to use American military force regardless of public opinion or would exaggerate or lie (Vietnam and Iraq wars for example) to temporally gain some public support.
Wilhelm II, anglicised as William II, was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening Germany's position as a great power by building a blue-water navy and promoting scientific innovation, his tactless public statements greatly antagonized the international community and his foreign policy was seen by many as one of the causes for the outbreak of World War I. When the German war effort collapsed after a series of crushing defeats on the Western Front in 1918, he was forced to abdicate, thereby bringing an end to the three-hundred-year rule of the House of Hohenzollern.
