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To What Extent Did David Low’s Cartoons Accurately Portray European Appeasement Policy Towards Japanese Aggression in the Manchurian Crisis?

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To What Extent Did David Low’s Cartoons Accurately Portray European Appeasement Policy Towards Japanese Aggression in the Manchurian Crisis?
HL HISTORY INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

To what extent did David Low’s cartoons accurately portray European Appeasement Policy towards Japanese aggression in the Manchurian Crisis?

Name: Linda Brownwood
Word Count: 1,848
Number of Pages: 14

Section A: Plan of Investigation
In 1931, a supposed Chinese act of aggression in Manchuria1, dubbed the Mukden Incident, led Japan to respond with a full invasion. By doing so, Japan had broken the oath of non-aggression that it had sworn to the League of Nations. Japan’s failure to comply with any proposed resolutions by the League should have resulted in economic sanctions and/or collective military enforcement. However, the League did neither. Thus, to what extent did David Low’s cartoons accurately portray European Appeasement Policy towards Japanese aggression in the Manchurian Crisis? To determine this, the Investigation will examine relevant works by David Low and their implications along with the justifications behind European Appeasement Policy.

Word Count: 110

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1 Due to the highly orchestrated nature of the Japanese move, others speculated that the bomb may have been planted by mid-level officers in the Japanese army to provide a pretext for the subsequent military act.

Section B: Summary of Evidence
Manchurian Crisis * After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the United States raised tariffs on Japanese goods in order to protect their industries.2 * Japan’s economy suffered from this and they decided that the only way to solve its economic problems and show that it was still a strong nation was through expansion.3 * In September 1931, the Japanese owned railroad from Manchuria to the coast was vandalized at Mukden. Due to the highly orchestrated nature of the event, the explosion was most likely staged to provide a pretext for the subsequent military attack.4 * China did not put up much of a resistance because they were busy directing their



Bibliography: Low, David. “The Cat and Mouse Act.” Cartoon. Evening Standard, Feb 17, 1933. From British Cartoon Archive. Low, David. “The Doormat” Cartoon. Evening Standard, Jan 19, 1933. From British Cartoon Archive. Low, David. “The Great Wall of China.” Cartoon. Evening Standard, Feb 27, 1933. From British Cartoon Archive. Low, David. “The Open Door Policy in China” Cartoon. Evening Standard, Apr 25, 1934. From British Cartoon Archive. Low, David. “Will the League stand up to Japan?” Cartoon. Evening Standard, Nov 17, 1931. From British Cartoon Archive.

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