Conflict and Tension - The League of Nations Flashcards
What were the Aims of the League of Nations?
Aims (SIDE)
1.Stop war (collective security)
- Improve lives and jobs
- Disarmament
- Enforce the Treaty of Versailles (encourage trade, economic and social agencies, health care, end slavery).
What were the Powers of the League of Nations? (LoN)
The powers of The League
- Covenant (Articles 10-17, members promised to keep the peace).
- Condemnation (the League could tell a country it was doing wrong).
- Arbitration (the League could offer to decide between two countries).
- Sanctions (stopping trade).
What were the FOUR main structures and roles within the League of Nations?
Structure
1. Assembly (the main meeting of the League – all members met once a year). Its main problem was that decisions had to be unanimous (agreed by everyone), which was very difficult to achieve.
2. Council (a small group of the more important nations – Britain, France, Italy and Japan plus some other countries – met 4–5 times a year).
3. Agencies (committees of the League):
• Court of International Justice (for small disputes).
• Health Committee (to improve world health).
• International Labour Organisation (to try to get fair wages).
• Slavery Committee (to end slavery).
• Refugee Committee (to return people to their homes after wars or disasters).
- Secretariat (was supposed to organise the League, but failed).
What were some examples of Treaties and Agreements made within (inside) and Without (outside) of the League?
The Dawes Plan – This was designed by America to prevent conflict through lending money to Germany so that they could pay reparations. This helped the League with their aims of enforcing the Treaty of Versailles and stopping wars.
The Locarno Treaties – Germany agreed to accept the boarders laid out in the Treaty of Versailles, that the Rhineland would remain a demilitarised zone and that any future disputes between France and Germany would be settled by the League. This again helped the League with their aim of enforcing the Treaty of Versailles.
Kellogg-Briand Pact – This agreement was signed in 1928 by 63 countries who agreed to try and stop any future conflict through peaceful means. This helped the League with their aim of stopping wars. It was particularly significant that America signed the Pact as they were not members of the League.
What were examples of FAILURES of the LoN in the 1920s?
The League failed at stopping some wars (Corfu), Conflict with Russia in early 1920s, and disarmament (Kellogg-Briand), as well as enforcing the Treaty of Versailles (Poland). These failures were mainly due to the fact that the League had no way of effectively imposing sanctions due to its lack of an army and the fact that the one country that could support the League with the necessary economic and military power, the USA, was not a member. Britain and France were too weak following WWI to really be able to support the League.
What were examples of SUCCESSES of the LoN in the 1920s?
Successes of the League in the 1920s:
Reparations (1921) - Enforcing the Treaty of Versailles
When the Germans refused to pay, France and Britain invaded Germany and made them pay.
Prisoners of War - Improving lives and jobs
The League took home half a million WWI prisoners of war.
Aaland Islands (1921) - Stopping wars In this disagreement over control between Sweden and Finland – League acted as arbitrator and said they should go to Finland, Sweden accepted.
Bulgaria (1925) - Stopping wars
Greece obeyed the League’s orders to pull out of Bulgaria in 1925.
Slaves - Improving lives and jobs
The League attacked slave traders in Africa and Burma and freed 200,000 slaves.
Disease - Improving lives and jobs
The League worked to prevent malaria and leprosy.
Refugees (1922) -Improving lives and jobs
The League set up camps and fed Turkish refugees.
Economic problems - Improving lives and jobs
The League sent economics experts to help Austria and Hungary.
Drugs - Improving lives and jobs
The League closed down four big Swiss companies which were selling drugs.
Overall the League was very successful at improving people’s lives and jobs during the 1920s. These activities tended to be carried out by the League’s committees, showing that this area of the structure worked particularly well. The work of the League which successfully highlighted social problems on a global scale and made positive steps towards eradicating diseases such as leprosy and their work in relocating refugees had never been achieved before by any organisation.
Why did the League fail?
It WAS DUMB!
Weak – the League’s ‘powers’ were virtually useless. Sanctions did not work (Failed to stop the sale of arms to Italy during the Abyssinian crisis). It had no army.
America – the strongest nation in the world never joined. Britain and France were not strong enough to impose peace on their own.
Structure – the League was muddled, so it took ages to do anything. Members couldn’t agree – but decisions had to be unanimous. This paralysed the League. It was very slow to act (Manchuria).
Depression – the world-wide Depression made countries try to get more land and power. They were worried about themselves, not about world peace.
Unsuccessful – the more the League failed, the less people trusted it. (Manchuria led to the invasion of the Rhineland). In the end, everybody just ignored it.
Members – the League’s main members let it down. Italy (Abyssinian Crisis) and Japan (Manchurian Crisis) betrayed the League. France and Britain did nothing to help it.
Big bullies – in the 1920s, the League had dealt with weak countries. In the 1930s, powerful countries like Germany, Italy and Japan attacked weaker countries. They were too strong for the League to stop them.
What was the Manchurian Crisis?
The Manchurian Crisis 1931-1933 followed the Mukden Incident in which Japanese rail tracks were destroyed in an explosion. Claiming that it was saboteurs, the Japanese responded with force, taking control of the Chinese province of Manchuria. The issue was investigated by the League of Nations which found Japan to be at fault. The Japanese ignored the League of Nations and left the organisation. The province was not returned to Chinese rule until the end of the Second World War.
What was the Abyssinian Crisis?
Italy invaded Abyssinia in 1935. Although the League officially condemned the Italians, France and Britain were caught making a secret agreement to give Abyssinia to Italy.
What was the overall background/context to the LoN?
Background
• Set up in 1920 by the Treaty of Versailles.
• Originally the idea of Woodrow Wilson who wanted the League to be like a world parliament.
• Based in Geneva, Switzerland.
• 42 countries joined at the start. By the 1930s this had risen to 60.
• May 1920, the US Senate voted against Versailles, thus the country did not join the League.
• The USSR did not join the League.
• Germany was not allowed to join as a punishment for causing WWI.
• The leading members were Britain and France, helped by Italy and Japan.
True or False: The USA Never joined the League of Nations
TRUE!
Whilst the League of Nations was the brainchild (idea) of Woodrow Wilson, member of the ‘Big 3’ at the Versailles Peace Conference and American President, the US Senate would not ratify the treaty and as such the USA never joined the League of Nations. This was due to the USA retreating into ‘Isolationism’ after World War One - a policy that would see the USA take a step back on the World Stage of politics.
True or False: The Germany Never joined the League of Nations
FALSE!
As part of the diplomatic relations of the 1920s (Especially the Locarno Agreement and Kellogg Briand Pact) Germany was embraced and welcomed back onto the World Stage in 1926 and became of member of the League of Nations. Adolf Hitler withdrew Germany from the League in 1933, on the pretence that the other nations would not agree to disarm to the same levels as Germany had after World War One.
