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The Five Power Treaty
Internationalist: The Five-Power Treaty, signed by the United States, Great Britain, Japan, France, and Italy was the cornerstone of the naval disarmament program. It called for each of the countries involved to maintain a set ratio of warship tonnage. Regarded as a success, there was some controversy over expansion. While the U.S, British and Japanese already had many bases in the Pacific but outlawed their expansion further. -
The Four Power Treaty
International: The Four-Power Treaty, the US, France, Britain & Japan agreed to consult each other before taking action in a future crisis in East Asia. After WW1 the U.S saw Japan as the greatest military threat. Heavily militarized & looking to expand its influence and territory, Japan had the potential to threaten U.S colonial possessions in Asia & the profitable China trade. By creating this agreement, the countries involved ensured they would communicate if a conflict were to emerge. -
The Nine Power Treaty
International: Marked the internationalization of the U.S Open Door Policy in China. The treaty promised that each of the signatories would respect the territorial integrity of China. The treaty affirmed the importance of equal opportunity but lacked a method of enforcement to ensure that all powers abided by its terms. Together, the treaties signed at the Washington Conference served to uphold the status quo in the Pacific. -
U.S. Loans to Allied Powers
International: The U.S had little interest in collecting reparations from Germany, it was determined to secure payment of the $10billion it loaned to the Allies during the war. London would seek reparations and war debt repayments from European allies to equal debt to the U.S. Congress created the U.S War Debt Commission to negotiate repayment plans with 17 countries who borrowed money from the U.S. -
The Dawes Plan
International: Late 1923, the Reparation Commission struck a committee to review the situation. Under the Dawes Plan, Germany's annual reparation payments would be reduced. Foreign banks would loan the German government $200million to help encourage economic stabilization. As they continued, Germany had enough money to meet its reparation payments. Countries used their payments from Germany to service their war debts to the U.S. -
Initial Arms Limits
International: After WW1, many nations became concerned about the threat of another war. To address these issues, Great Britain, U.S, Japan, France, and Italy signed the Five Powers Treaty to agree to ratios of naval tonnage and restrictions with regard to building of both ships and bases. They were invited to discuss include other classes of vessels such as cruisers, destroyers, and submarines. France and Italy declined the invitation. -
Geneva Conference
International: A meeting in Geneva with U.S, Great Britain, and Japan, to negotiate the extension of naval limitations. The conference failed because the countries were not able to come to an agreement. No new treaty was formed. -
U.S Peace Advocates
International: After WW1, U.S officials and private citizens were putting in effort to prevent the nation from being drawn into another war. Some focused on communication and others on cooperation with the League of Nations. They took focus on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an organization dedicated to promoting internationalism that was established in 1910. -
The Kellogg-Briand Pact
International: An agreement to outlaw war. U.S president Calvin Coolidge and Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg worried that the agreement against war could be interpreted as a bilateral alliance and require the U.S to intervene if France was ever threatened. To avoid this, they suggested that the two nations take the lead in inviting all nations to join them in outlawing the war. -
The Young Plan
International: A new committee of experts was created to devise a final settlement of the German reparations problem. The committee proposed a plan to reduce Germanys reparations. The Young Plan also called for the creation of a Bank for International Settlements, designed to facilitate the payment of reparations. European nations agreed to cancel their reparations against Germany. Young Plan was significant instances of U.S reengagement with European affairs. -
Failure to Form a New Treaty
International: After the failed talks at Geneva, the U.S passed a bill to build fifteen new cruisers and an aircraft carrier, and joined the naval arms race. This led Japan and Britain to consider their own building programs, making the result of the conference a potential new arms race, rather than limitation. The U.S and Britain realized that no agreement on the cruiser conflict would block future advancements, so they continued to discuss in the next years. -
American Isolationism
Isolationism: During the 1930s, both the Great Depression and losses in WW1 contributed to pushing American public opinion and policy towards isolationism. Having this policy would reduce military conflicts and also reduce likeliness of another war. In his farewell address, President George Washington had advocated non-involvement in European wars and politics.
