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Difficulty: MediumUnresolved Tensions After World War I

Source: A political cartoon published in Great Britain, 1920.

[Cartoon Description: The cartoon, titled 'The New Trusteeship,' shows British and French imperial officials dividing a map of the Middle East. They are marking borders for territories labeled 'Mesopotamia,' 'Syria,' and 'Palestine' with stakes that read 'League of Nations Class A Mandate.' In the background, a group of Arab nationalists stands behind a barbed-wire fence, pointing at a document labeled '1915 McMahon-Hussein Agreement' with expressions of anger. Nearby, a clerk representing the League of Nations holds a stamp labeled 'Official Approval' and blindly presses it onto the British and French agreement papers.]

Based on the cartoon and your knowledge of world history, which of the following best describes the main argument of the cartoonist?

  1. The League of Nations mandate system was essentially a continuation of Western imperial control under a new international guise.Answer
  2. B
    The mandate system successfully fulfilled the wartime promises of self-determination made to Arab leaders.
  3. C
    The League of Nations effectively limited the economic and territorial expansion of Britain and France.
  4. D
    The Middle East territories were granted immediate sovereignty and independence after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Answer

The League of Nations mandate system was essentially a continuation of Western imperial control under a new international guise.
The correct answer is correct because the cartoon portrays Great Britain and France dividing Ottoman territories using the mandate system as a cover, with the League of Nations merely rubber-stamping their colonial ambitions. This reflects the historical reality that mandates functioned to maintain Western imperial hegemony in the Middle East despite Woodrow Wilson's rhetoric of self-determination, leading to deep regional resentment.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus
The cartoon shows Britain and France dividing Middle Eastern territories (Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine) under 'Class A Mandate' labels, while the League of Nations blindly approves and Arab nationalists are excluded and angered, referencing the unfulfilled McMahon-Hussein Agreement.
To identify the historical actors and their conflicting interests depicted in the source.
2
Contextualize the cartoon within post-World War I history
After World War I, the League of Nations established the mandate system to administer former Ottoman territories, which Arab nationalists expected would lead to immediate independence as promised during the war.
To connect the visual cues of the cartoon to the broader historical theme of unresolved post-war tensions.
3
Evaluate the options against the cartoonist's argument
The depiction of the League of Nations as a weak rubber-stamp for British and French imperial partition indicates that the cartoonist believed the mandate system was merely a facade for continued colonial rule, which aligns with the correct option.
To determine which claim accurately reflects the primary message of the cartoon.

Key Concept

Unresolved Tensions After World War I
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Unresolved Tensions After World War I

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