Abstract1919 was a year of change and upheaval the world over. The Great Powers conferred at Versailles on the design of a New World Order, even as they faced instability and discontent at home. The newly formed Soviet Union continued to be wracked by civil war two years after the October Revolution, while its future adversary, the United States, was in the throes of a Red Scare and struggling to reconcile the opposing currents of isolationism and Wilsonian internationalism. Across the Pacific, Korean nationalists launched an uprising against the forces of Japanese imperialism on 1 March. Although this rebellion failed, it reflected the new anti-colonial spirit which seemed to be sweeping across Asia and Africa and which would trigger further uprisings before years end. All across the globe, it seemed, unrest, transformation, and revolution were in the air.
