ABSTRACT
The influence of the military in Chinese politics and society had seemingly grown exponentially since the 1911 revolution. Although the Northern Expedition had technically united the country and ended the warlord scourge, "residual warlordism" remained a dangerous political and military challenge. That danger was compounded by the reality that Chiang did not achieve firm control of the party apparatus until near the end of the Nanjing decade. Chiang had risen to power under the banner of nationalism, the goals of his revolution having been, on the one hand, to eliminate warlords and unite the nation and, on the other, to expel the imperialists and liberate the nation. Chiang focused most of his plans for modernization on the areas of communications, transportation, and manufacturing because development in these areas would provide crucial infrastructure for defense and a significant base for further modernization.
