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At the conclusion of the first World War all major victorious powers, most notably France, Great Britain and the U.S, gathered to settle territorial concessions and repercussions of the devastating conflict that lasted nearly half a decade 1914-1918. The Paris Peace Conference aimed to create the League of Nations, "the embodiment of all the democratic ideals" (1),  in which international powers would be able to resolve disputes without the need for further wars to be fought. The Paris Peace Conference gave an opportunity for smaller nations, involved in the War, to get a seat at the international table. Such nations as India (still under British rule) and Japan (a growing power in the Asian region) were to be apart of the consortium of nations. Japan, represented by Japanese Diplomats Baron Makino Nobuaki and Chinda Sutemi, pushed for a racial equality clause within the charter of the League of Nations as it wished to be recognised as a nation equal with the other western victors of the WW1. Japan saw it as integral to protecting not only itself but it's citizens globally from further racial prejudice in the post war era (2). Thus the Japanese diplomats submitted drafts for the inclusion of the racial equality clause to the United States delegation headed by President Woodrow Wilson.

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President Woodrow Wilson
"Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America." by Jared Enos is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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There were quite clearly divided battle lines at the Paris Peace Conference in relation to the issue of Racial Equality. 1918 not only brought about the close of the first World War, it also signified a monumental shift of power away from dominant European nations. America was quite clearly poised to guide this new era of geopolitical relations and Woodrow Wilson was seen as an "apostle of liberty" (3). Wilson and the U.S delegates were in an interesting position at the Paris Peace Conference, they essentially had no dog in the race and wouldn't benefit from the spoils of victory or the redrawing of European borders after the conflict. Many hoped that Wilson would be the one to bridge the gap between East and West created a new era of interconnectedness equality and  admiration. The most prominent calls for racial equality came from the Japanese delegates at the peace summit drafting clauses to be added in the charter of the soon to be formed League of Nations. However the Japanese faced significant pushback from the western powers when trying to implement the clause into the charter. The U.S, British and Australian representatives all agreed that due to current domestic policy and public attitudes towards those from the East that it best not to ratify the Japanese claims of equality in the charter of the League of Nations. One of the staunching opponents to the Japanese bid for racial equality was the Australian Premier Billy Hughes. The British government had interpreted Japan's proposal of racial equality to encompass immigration as well, thus not only did this effect Great Britain but all of it's subsequent colonies as well (4). As Australia is apart of the British Empire, Britain was heeding advice from the island nation in how to respond to the proposal from Tokyo. Hughes stated to the Japanese that due to growing anti-asian sentiment at home and the implementation of the "White Australia" policy in 1901 it would contradict current domsetic policy and anger the citizens of Australia. Wilson had the same issue, although he might have morally agreed with the Japanese proposal for racial equality his hands were tied as the notion of conceeding those from non-white countries as equal was especially unpopular with the American West Coast (5). It was ultimately the  convergence of U.S British and Australian pushback towards the acceptance of racial equality that finished Japanese hopes for equality and respect at the Paris Peace Conference and subsequent years afterwards (6).

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Photo taken after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
"Delegates Leaving The Palace after Sigining the Treaty of Versailles" by Archives New Zealand is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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The end of World War 1 provided an opportunity for smaller states to seek greater sovereignty in domestic and international affairs (7). Vladimir Lenin was responsible for the introduction of the phrase "self-determination" in 1917 when the Bolsheviks in Russia planned to come to power and liberate the colonies of the world. Uniting all nations as equal and providing opportunity for communities to have agency over their own affairs (8). British Prime Minister Lloyd George saw an opportunity to help frame public perception of the victorious allied power by aligning both Lenin's aims of self-determination and Wilson's aims of peace by popular consent (9). China came to the Paris Peace Conference with hopes that the European powers would follow through with their claims to provide nation states with self-determination. Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang (10) hoped this would bring an end to foreign interest and involvement in China and would solidify their independence from occupation. India were also watching proceedings closely, having been under British rule since the middle of the 19th Century also sought to oust the British and rule independently over there own state. Both states sought to reap the rewards of conflict involvement during the war in the peace settlement deals however failed to convince the European victors that Eastern states were worthy of self determination like the European states in the west.

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Map highlighting the extent of the British Empire
"The World Showing British Empire in Red (1922)" by Eric Fischer is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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(1) (4) (5) Shimazu, N, & Stockwin, JAA 1998, Japan, Race and Equality : The Racial Equality Proposal Of 1919, Taylor & Francis Group, London. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central.

(2) Lake, M. and Reynolds, H., 2008. Drawing the Global Colour Line: White Men's Countries and the International Challenge of Racial Equality (Critical perspectives on empire). Cambridge University Press

(3) (7) (8) (9)  Manela, E., 2006. Imagining Woodrow Wilson in Asia: Dreams of East-West Harmony and the Revolt against Empire in 1919. The American Historical Review, 111(5), pp.1327-1351.

(6) Imamoto, S, 2006, Racial Equality Bill: Japanese Proposal At Paris Peace Conference: Diplomatic Manoeuvres; And Reasons For Rejection, MA Thesis, Macquarie University, Sydney

(10) Yongjin, Z. (1991). A Disappointed Nation at Paris, 1919. [online] Springer Link. Available at: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-1-349-21238-5_3.pdf

Images:

"Delegates Leaving The Palace after Sigining the Treaty of Versailles" by Archives New Zealand is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

"Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America." by Jared Enos is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

"The World Showing British Empire in Red (1922)" by Eric Fischer is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/