The Kellogg-Briand Pact: A Failed Peace Effort

After World War I, over 60 nations actually signed a pact to make war

illegal. In 1928, the world was so tired of conflict that countries like

the U.S., France, Germany, and Japan signed the Kellogg-Briand

Pact, promising to stop using war to solve problems. The intention was

amazing, but it had a fatal flaw. The pact allowed for self-defense,

and there were no real consequences for breaking the rules. Predictably,

nations just started calling their invasions "self-defense." Japan's invasion of Manchuria was

the first major test, and the pact failed. But even though it couldn't prevent