ABSTRACT
The image of Japan held in the late thirties and early forties by Secretaries Henry L. Stimson and Henry, Jr Morgenthau as well as by Stanley Hornbeck reflected certain personal and organizational experiences, all of which merged into a coherent, shared worldview. Stimson was sensitive to the dangers inherent in adopting an irreconcilable posture toward Japan, and thus opposed the imposition of any settlement upon Japan by the League of Nations or by any other outside force. Stimson's outlook was manifested with considerably greater confidence during November, when the Manchurian crisis further escalated into an event of great magnitude. The group was convinced that the Axis powers and their allies were pursuing a worldwide policy of disrupting the global balance of power. Whereas Stimson's behavior in the course of the Pacific crisis of 1940-1941 was profoundly influenced by his involvement in the Manchurian crisis, Hornbeck's approach during the period preceding the Pacific War was apparently affected by his "Chinese experience.".
