League Of Nations Flashcards
(34 cards)
Human cost of WW1
- 65,000,000 men = mobilised between 1914-1918
- 9 million military + 7 million civilian deaths; further 19 million wounded
- France 1919: 15 women for every
man aged 18-30 - 9.5 million permanently disabled, millions more suffered from shellshock/PTSD
- At least 10 million people displaced from their homes –> refugees.
Creation of the League of Nations
-how it was created & what national cooperation was previously like
Idea of a society cooperating to keep the peace x new
19th cent Concert of Europe = informal league of great powers
- worked together to keep order & discourage change
1864 Geneva Convention defined war crimes + how states should conduct war
formation of transitional bodies such as international Telegraph union (1865) & Universal Postal Union (1874)
instance of Wilson –> creation of LON = 1st order of business at Paris Peace Conference
Wilson’s primary concern = prevent future wars
countries had different ideas for what LON would look like, but all plans went further then the limited cooperation that had existed in the 19th century.
Economic cost of WW1
- Est. $4.2 trillion for Allies + $1.7 trillion for central powers.
- Total war required mobilisation of all available resources
- Livestock + men taken from rural
areas for war effort –> food
shortages
- Industrial workers = replaced by
women - Trade + capital flows b/w nations = damaged
- Trade as proportion of int. economy
did not recover until 1993 (return to
same levels as 1913) - Paying for the war –> huge increases in taxes + national debts
- US top tax rate: 1913 = 7% –> 1918
= 77%
- 1914 - 1919: British national debt
rose from 660 million pounds –> 17
billion pounds
Economic + human costs –> increasing social upheaval + calls for change
- Universal male + female suffrage –> more representation for lower classes/marginalised
- Feminist, socialist + anti-colonial
movements became increasingly
more vocal + active - Govt. took on greater role in economic + social life –> surveillance + regulation of ppl’s private lives
- Est. of welfare systems for
returned soldiers, widows +
orphans - Horror of war –> growing sense of pessimism about the direction of western society
- Younger generation = more
hedonistic, less religious + more
contempt towards trad.
values/social hierarchy - Philosophers, artists + politicians started questioning accepted values + beliefs
Cost of WW1 interpretations/quotes
‘World war I cost Western civilization its self-congratulatory optimism’
‘shared sense of confidence had been deeply shaken, and growing cynicism about the nature of Western civilization intensified the toll of total war’
- Kimberly A. Redding (2018)
Purpose for the League of Nations/ Reason for creation
(aims)
28th April 1919: Covenant of the LON = adopted containing 26 articles outlining the purpose + structure of the organisation
To prevent future wars it had to address the causes of WW1
To stop Alliance issue
- Collective security = discourage aggression + encourage nations to disarm
- Arbitration = settle disputes b/w Nations through negotiation/diplomacy (neutral 3rd party intervening)
- Open diplomacy = provide a forum for international discussions & diplomacy
To stop Nationalism issue
- International cooperation = improve trade/living + working conditions in all parts of world
Structure of the League of Nations
original membership of the League = 42 nations –> 58 by 1934
-Mostly European organisation
League of Nations council met 5x a year or during international emergencies
-purpose = address global threats to peace + security, act as an executive body for the LON
League of Nations Assembly met once a year, each member had one vote & decisions had to be unanimous
purpose = vote on budget + administration of new members
Permanent Secretariat = body of experts, 1931: consisted of 707 staff led by a general Secretary
purpose = set the agenda for assembly meetings + provide advice to membership
Special commissions = Separate organisation funded and administered by members of the League
-permanent court of international justice = designed to settle disputes b/w countries
-international labour organisation, High commission for refugees, Mandates commission
Problems with the structure of the League of Nations
Need for unanimous agreement –> reduced the strength + effectiveness of the agreement
–> longer decisions & weaker ones due to compromise
+ states not willing to endanger personal interests
Issues of Representation
- created by the victorious allies, no input from defeated central powers
-European dominance –> frustration from other members (Japan & China)
isolation + concerns over being drawn into another European war –> US Senate refused to allow Us to join
- Woodrow Wilson driving force behind LON + biggest proponent for collective security
-undermined LON legitimacy (suspicious y US didn’t join)
lack of enforcement (powerful nations like France+Britan x willing to accept limitations put on them from smaller Nations)
-didn’t have any armed forces–> relied on members to provide military forces
-Nations disagreeing w LON left rather then abide by decisions
Woodrow Wilson’s idealistic vision in ‘Fourteen points’
- ‘Fourteen Points’ presented at a joint session of Congress Jan 8, 1918
- Three main themes:
- National self-determination
- Preventing war from reoccurring in
the future
- Free trade + open diplomacy
Significance of the ‘Fourteen Points’
- First time that idea of collective security suggested
- Fourteen points = basis for US position at Paris Peace Conference
- Many of its principles = implemented in the Treaty of Versailles + other treaties
- Reflected broader criticism of the existing social/political order
- Imperialism etc. seen as
responsible for the outbreak of war - Principles still upheld in modern international law + global institutions like UN
Theme of National self-determination underlying the 14 points
- Belief that ppl should be able to form their own state + choose their own govts free from interference from other nations
- Anti-imperialist: colonies/subject ppls should be given right to become independent
Theme of free trade + open diplomacy underlying the 14 points
- Trade + communication b/w nations –> interdependence b/w countries
- Interdependence b/w countries = less likely to go to war b/c they lose access to trade
- Open discussion of problems b/w countries –> able to resolve differences w/o violence
Theme of avoiding war in future underlying the 14 points
- Wilson = understood main causes of the war (imperialism, militarism, nationalism + alliances)
- Implementation of national self-determination = addressed problem of nationalism + imperialism
- Collective security through LON –> no need for alliances or militarism
Treaties from Paris Peace Conference - Treaty of Versailles
- Most famous + important of post WW1 treaties
- However, each central power was
forces into accepting treaties with
punishing conditions
- These treaties –> creation of new
states = based on national self-
determination?
- Created resentment within these
states similar to backlash toward the
TOV in Germany
Treaties from Paris Peace Conference - Treaty of St Germain
- 1919 –> breakup of Austria-Hungary
- Army limited to 30,000 men; no
conscription
- Austria lost 60% of its territory + all
its non-German speaking lands
- Formed new countries of
Hungary, Yugoslavia,
Czechoslovakia + Poland
- Hapsburg monarchy replaced with
a republic similar to Weimar
Germany
- Many believed the new
republic wasn’t viable –>
wanted to unite with Germany
(h/w TOV banned this)
Why the League of Nations Mandates were created
Post war treaties deprived the central powers of large amounts of territory –> dilemma for the allies
-belief that these territories = ‘unable to function fully as a independent nations
- many allies wanted control over territories for themselves
-Japan, Britan + France = all hopped to gain control over German colonies after victory
-Opposed by the US = anti imperialist + supported national self-determination
LON mandate system = compromise between these two points of view
What the LON mandates aimed to do/ responsibilities
Article 22 of the covenant established the concept of LON mandates
- not colonies = territory overseen by an advanced nation (mandatory) on behalf of the LON
- states x annex mandated territories + must develop territories for the benefit of the native population
- control lasted only until time when nation was ‘ready’ for independence
-time frame + extent of control defined by LON council
- Each year Mandatory had to report to the council about conditions in territory
Categories of Mandates
Class A Mandates
-former territory of the Ottoman Empire
- deemed sufficiently advanced to achieve independence within years/decades
Class B Mandates
-former German colonies in West+Centeral Africa
- required greater oversight from mandatory power due to their ‘less advanced’ societies
-mandatory = control over law + foreign policy, but could not build a military or naval bases
Class C Mandates
-former German colonies in Pacific & SW Africa Administered directly as ‘integral portions’ of mandatory’s territory = basically colonies
LON disarmament treaties
Covenant (article 8)
LON Covenant (Art8)= ↓ arms “to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement…of international obligations”
*Many nations (inc.USA)= supportive of disarmament for moral reasons
*Large armies/navies also extremely costly+drain on peace time economies
*1921:LON Temporary Mixed Commission on Armaments
*Discussed proposals such as prohibiting chemical warfare+bombing of civilians, limiting artillery+tanks
*Members= appointed as private individuals, not govt representatives
*Difficult to agree on practical measures b/c couldn’t guarantee security after giving up weapons
LON disarmament treaties
1922: Washington Naval Treaty
1922: Washington Naval Treaty= signed by Britain, US, France, Italy + Japan
*Prevent an arms race by limiting no. of battleships, battlecruisers + aircraft carriers
*Other categories of warships (cruisers, destroyers +subs) =not limited
*No. of ships limited according to the 5‐5‐3‐1.5 ratio
*For every 5 British / US ships, 3 Japanese + 1.5 French/Italian
1928: Kellogg–Briand Pact
1928: Kellogg–Briand Pact =international treaty designed to prevent states resorting to war
*Nearly every country signed the pact at one point or another
*Signed by USA, Germany + France on 27August1928 → total of 57 signatories by 1929
Signatories promised not to use war to resolve “disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they maybe”Leadership + participation of the US increased legitimacy of the Pact
*US senate ratified treaty 85‐1 → showed that US govt was commited to international disarmament
*Established international norm of non‐aggression =used as the basis for the Nuremburg +Tokyo trails after WW2
*However, countries continued to take part in aggressive wars/conquest
*Did not ‘officially’ declare war= came up with pretexts
*Countries allowed to interpret law according to their individual ‘constitutional requirements’
*Many countries (e.g. Britain) reserved right to use war to“ protect vital interests
Treaties from Paris Peace Conference: Treaty of Trianon
- 1920: Hungary decreased in size
- Allies considered Hungary a partner of Austria in the war –> harsh terms applied
- Lost 75% of its territory + population
- Territory given to
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia,
Romania + Italy - Hungarians argued that they were not responsible for war b/c they were ruled by Austria
Treaties from Paris Peace Conference: Treaty of Sevres
-1920: Non-Turkish regions of Ottoman Empire lost
- City of Smyrna (Izmir) = given to Greece (h/w this was never recognised)
- Arab countries (Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon + Palestine) –> mandates under French + British control
- 1919-1920: Greco-Turkish War
–> 1923 Treaty of
Lausanne
- Recognition of the
Republic of Turkey =
modern borders
Population exchange b/w
Greece + Turkey
Creation of Poland
1772-1795: Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania = partitioned by Russia, Prussia + Austria –> loss of independence for 123 years.
Point 13 of 14 points = reestablishment of an independent Poland
- “should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations…assured a free and secure access to the sea
New Polish state = created through TOV
- Total area = 389,720 km2
(6th largest country in
Europe)
- Silesia, “Polish corridor” =
taken from Germany +
Galicia from A-H
- 1918-1921: series of wars
fought with USSR,
Czechoslovakia to
determine eastern +
southern borders
- Borders not officially
recognised until 1923
Population in 1921 = 27,177,000 75% = lived in rural areas
- 1/3 of population = non-
Polish minorities
- Ukrainians, Belarusians,
Lithuanians, Germans +
Jewish
