MANCHURIA CRISIS 1931-1933

By Jazmine D. McBride

Manchuria is located in eastern

Asia.

Specifically in northeastern

China. It includes the provinces

of Heilongjiang, Jilin (Kirin or

Chi-lin) and Liaoning. These

places have always attracted

much attention from outside

powers because of their fertile

lands and resources.

WHAT IS THE MANCHURIAN CRISIS?

T

he Manchurian Crisis occurred between September 1931

and early 1933. The crisis was caused by Japanese forces

invading China’s land (known here as Manchuria).

D

espite China’s large size, they were unable to successfully

fight off the invasion because they were too weak and

fragmented.

SEPTEMBER 1931 (The Beginning)

M

ukden Incident- an explosion damaged a section of the South Manchurian

Railroad track.

J

apanese military advanced into South Manchuria.

O

ctober: US sat with the League of Nations Council to discuss the evolvement

of the Manchurian Crisis.

J

apanese failed to respond to warnings from the international organization.

Possibility of imposing economic sanctions was discussed.

D

ecember: The League called for the creation of a group of people to

go and assess the state of the crisis. Japan supported this idea

because they knew that it would delay The League’s decision, and

allot more time for the Japanese forces to acquire more territory.

T

he group that was sent to investigate the crisis was known as the

Lytton Commission. (named for British diplomat Lord Lytton)

T

he Lytton Commission was not appointed until January 1932, did not

arrive in Manchuria until April.

H

owever, the US struggled with

dividing opinion on the Crisis.

T

he Hoover administration made it

clear that economic sanctions were a

likely road to was and opposed them.

T

his statement put the government as

odds with newspaper editorialists.

I

n December 1931, the US declared that they

wouldn’t be taking any part in the Far East

ordeal.

J

anuary 1932, effective Chinese resistance ended.

S

ecretary Stimson sent a note to China and Japan

stating that the US would not recognize any

agreements made regarding Manchuria that

impaired US rights under existing treaties.

T

his policy of non- recognition became known as

the Stimson Doctrine.

S

ecretary Stimson sent a note to China and Japan stating

that the US would not recognize any agreements made

regarding Manchuria that impaired US rights under

existing treaties.

T

his policy of non-recognition became known as the

Stimson Doctrine.

JANUARY 29, 1932

M

ajor Japanese offensive was launched against the city of Shanghai.

T

housands of men, women, and children were killed in the bombing and subsequent

fires.

W

idespread international revulsion over the Japanese action.

H

owever, few were willing to press matters to the brink of war.

S

timson held strong feelings about this situation, but had to recognize the president’s

warning of pressing the Japanese too hard because doing so would bring the US into

the crisis.

S

timson was determined to make his point.

H

e sent an open letter to William E. Borah, Architect of the Washington

Conference.

T

he letter provides a lengthy examination of recent treaties pertaining to

the Far East and the development of the Open Door Policy.

T

his letter was not intended for Stimson’s benefit but for a broader

audience of Japan, Britain, China, the League of Nations and the American

public.

Japanese troops in China’s

territory of Manchuria.

M

arch: Stimson’s “shirtsleeves diplomacy” was rewarded when the

assembly of the League of Nations adopted a resolution containing

language similar to that of the Stimson Doctrine.

A

s a result, Tokyo backed down. A withdrawal of troops from

Shanghai that was complete in late May followed.

T

he crisis passed.

H

owever, Japanese desire to dominate neighboring areas in the Far East

remained.

S

eptember 15, 1932: Tokyo extended official recognition to Manchukuo.

M

anchukuo was supposedly an independent state that had been created

in Manchuria. It was actually no more than a puppet-state that

remained closed to the rest of the world. Only Germany and Italy

joined Japan in granting diplomatic recognition.

I

n October 1932, the Lytton Commission issued its report labeling Japan as the

aggressor, but acknowledging that the Japanese had historic special interests in

Manchuria.

I

n early 1933, the League of Nations backed the commission's findings and the United

States indicated that it was in “substantial accord” with the League.

The Japanese were stung by this rebuke and on March 27 they informed the League

of their intention to withdraw from the international body.

R

elations between Japan and China remained strained in the following years, then

finally erupted into full-scale war in 1937.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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manchuriancrisis.htm

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