Trump wants to leave a treaty on nuclear weapons. This is what happened when gun control failed in the 1930s

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Twice in the twentieth century, the great powers tried to create a peaceful world in the long term by limiting the armaments. Recent developmentsit seems that these efforts have failed twice. The first failure led directly to the Second World War. We do not know where the second will lead. "Data-reactid =" 11 "> Twice in the twentieth century, the great powers have tried to create a peaceful world in the long term by limiting the number of armaments, as if these efforts had failed twice. led directly to the Second World War.We do not know where the second will lead.

The first attempt at disarmament followed World War I, which shocked Europe and persuaded many people that a second war of this kind would mean the end of civilization. The process began with the Treaty of Versailles, which the British and French forced the new German government to sign. After blaming Germany and its allies for the outbreak of war – a judgment endorsed by later generations of historians – they limited the Germans to a tiny army of 100,000 men and a small navy without battleships of first rank, prohibiting them any air force at all. But the treaty also qualified these restrictions as a first step towards general disarmament, engaging the victorious nations in the same way. They did not take immediate steps to do so, but another disarmament effort was launched shortly thereafter.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "In 1921, the Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes summoned the Washington Conference discuss, inter alia, naval disarmament between the major maritime powers, Britain, the United States, Japan, France and Italy. At the time, the United States was committed to an unparalleled navy and had decided in principle to build 48 battleships, one for each state. Hughes knocked out the conference by suggesting that all major powers drastically reduce their future construction projects. "Data-reactid =" 13 "> In 1921, Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes convened the Washington Conference to discuss, among other things, the disarmament of the major maritime powers, namely Great Britain, the United States, Japan, France and Italy, who had committed to an unparalleled navy and had decided in principle to build 48 battleships, one for each state, stunned the conference by suggesting that all major powers are significantly reducing their future construction projects.

Finally, all agreed to drastically reduce the number of warships, freezing the battleships of the United States, Great Britain and Japan at a ratio of 5-5-3, which would theoretically prevent them from risking a naval war against each other. In 1930, at a second conference, they also agreed on ratios for some smaller vessels.

Meanwhile, in 1932, after years of quarrels, the European powers finally sat in Geneva to discuss a general disarmament agreement. The British and French governments finally realized that they had to disarm themselves and, perhaps, allow Germany some slight increases in its strength and allow it to have different types of weapons available to it. .

Unfortunately, the Great Depression was at its peak and the German government was facing a political crisis. Before reaching an agreement, Adolf Hitler became German Chancellor in January 1933. After the French government refused to allow him to triple the size of the German army, he left the disarmament conference and the League of Nations. In early 1935 he went further, rejecting all the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, reinstating a project and announcing the creation of a new air force.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "In Japan, the officers of the Navy and the The army had terrorized the civilian government by assassinating prominent political figures and seized Manchuria in 1931. They now wanted to make Japan the supreme power in East Asia and needed to A navy capable of defeating the Americans or the British When another conference met to revise the 1930 Navy Treaty, the Japanese refused to participate and said they would no longer be bound by previous treaties Great nations have all started to build new classes of larger battleships. has begun in 1939. "data-reactid =" 17 "> In Japan, naval and army officers terrorized the civilian government by assassinating political figures and seized Manchuria in 1931. They wanted now to make Japan the supreme power in East Asia, and they needed a navy capable of defeating the Americans or the British.In 1936, when another conference was convened to revise the treaty of 1930, the Japanese refused to participate and made it clear that they would no longer be bound earlier.The great nations have all started building new classes of larger battleships.The Second World War began in 1939.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Get your history in one place: subscribe to the TIME History Weekly Newsletter"data-reactid =" 18 ">Get your history in one place: subscribe to the TIME History Weekly Newsletter

<p class = "canvas-atom web-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "This war and the threat of nuclear arsenals, finally prompted the victorious powers to take measures to limit nuclear weapons, in a second period of arms limitation of the twentieth century. Treaty of Prohibition of Nuclear Tests, 1963, which put an end to the air tests led by the Americans, the Soviets and the British. in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation TreatySigned in 1968, most non-nuclear powers renounced nuclear weapons in return for the promise of the major nuclear powers to surrender theirs. Then came the SALT I and SALT II agreements of 1972 and 1979, which banned anti-ballistic missile systems and imposed limits on Soviet and US missiles. (Although the United States has never ratified SALT II, ​​several administrations have observed.) The advent of Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of communism paved the way for a new era of peace in the world, and Reagan and Gorbachev have removed mid-range missiles from their arsenals. in INF Treaty in 1987. Presidents Clinton and Obama signed new START agreements with the Russian government 1991 and 2010, limiting their nuclear arsenals much more. "data-reactid =" 19 "> This war and the threat of nuclear arsenals finally pushed the victorious powers to take action to limit nuclear weapons, in a second period of arms limitation of the twentieth century. 1963, which puts an end to air tests by the Americans, the Soviets and the British.In the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty signed in 1968, most non-nuclear Powers renounced nuclear weapons. SALT I and SALT II agreements of 1972 and 1979, which prohibited ballistic missile systems and limited Soviet and US missiles (although the United States never ratified SALT II, ​​successive administrations were observed). The advent of Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of communism paved the way for a new era of peace in the world. gan and Gorbachev eliminated mid-range missiles from their arsenals in the INF Treaty of 19 87. Subsequently, Presidents Clinton and Obama signed new START agreements with the Russian government in 1991 and 2010, further limiting their nuclear arsenals .