The League of Nations and international Peace Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in The League of Nations and international Peace Deck (25)
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1
Q

What were the 2 aims of the LON?

A
  1. Maintain Peace

2. To encourage cooperation on social and economic issues

2
Q

What were the 3 methods the LON could use to maintain peace?

A
  1. Disarmament- reducing weapons of countries
  2. Arbitration- discussion of issues
  3. Collective Security- act together to control aggressors
3
Q

Describe the role of the Assembly in the LON

A
  1. Met once a year
  2. Every Country had one Vote
  3. Decisions made unanimously
4
Q

Describe the role of the council of the LON

A

Held the power of Veto

5
Q

What is meant by the “Covenant” of the LON

A

A set of moral guidelines countries were obliged to follow

6
Q

What could the Permanent court of International Justice do upon the breaking of the Covenant of the LON

A
  1. Decide which country was in the wrong
  2. Tell a country so (Moral Condemnation)
  3. Impose economic sanctions on them
7
Q

If the PCIJ’s economic sanctions were not sufficient in solving issues, what could they do?

A

Apply military sanctions on a country

Note- the LON didn’t have an army- but they relied on the idea of “collective security”

8
Q

What were the 4 reasons that USA decided to not join the LON?

A
  1. The senate disagreed with Versailles (and didn’t sign)- the league was seen as an extension of this
  2. USA was a democracy and didn’t want to help Britain and France keep undemocratic colonies
  3. Woodrow Wilson’s political opponents wanted to make him unpopular- the league was his idea
  4. The rise of “isolationism”
9
Q

Why was USSR not allowed to join the LON?

A

USSR was communist at the time, and other governments feared this

10
Q

What were the two main issues with major powers not being involved in the LON?

A
  1. The league relied on “collective security”- and they didn’t have access to two of the largest armies in the world
  2. USA and USSR are not bound by embargoes towards other countries, thus undermining economic sanctions
11
Q

What are the 4 reasons that the LON was not powerful enough?

A
  1. Membership issues
  2. Britain and France were not strong enough to use military force to maintain peace following the war
  3. “collective security” didn’t work as countries were not actually willing to give up their armies
  4. Organisation- the PCIJ had no power to make countries act only advisory), assembly only met once a year slowing decision making, unanimous decisions requirement also slowed down conflict resolution
12
Q

Describe some social contributions made by the league in the 1920s

A
  1. Returned 500000 POWs back home
  2. International labour organisation persuaded members on minimum wages and other regulation
  3. The slavery commission freed 200 000 slaves from Burma and Sierra Leone
  4. The health organisation helped combat spread of malaria, leprosy and plague
13
Q

Describe the handling of the Upper Silesia dispute 1921

A

Upper Silesia was a valuable industrial area fought over by Poland and Germany

A referendum was held that was to close to be decisive

The league split up regions between the countries and generally everyone was happy

14
Q

Describe the handling of the Aaland islands dispute 1921

A

These are islands in the middle of Finland and Sweden

Citizens were Finnish but wanted to be ruled by Sweden

The LON said Finland should keep its rightful land

Both parties accepted this

15
Q

Describe the handling of the Bulgaria dispute 1925

A

Greece entered Bulgaria after border disputes

The league told them to withdraw

They accepted this

16
Q

Describe the handling of the Corfu dispute in 1923

A

A Italian diplomat was shot in Greece

Italy responded by occupying Corfu

The LON told them to withdraw

They didn’t accept and instead asked for compensation

The LON changed its mind and agreed

17
Q

Describe the handling of the Vilna incident

A

Vilna is the capital of newly formed Lithuania

Its population want to be Polish

Poland capture the region

The league tells them to withdraw

Poland does not agree

18
Q

Describe the handling of the Ruhr dispute 1923

A

Germany missed a payment deadline for reparations

France occupied the industrious area, the Ruhr

France began shipping products back to their country, and the LON didn’t intervene

USA resolved this with the Dawes Plan

19
Q

Describe the use of the Dawes and young plan

A

Dawes (1924) loaned Germany money and spread out reparations costs- increasing trade and cooperation

Young (1929) reduced reparations by 75% and gave Germany 59 years to pay

20
Q

Describe the Lorcano Treaties (1925) and their uses

A

Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann agree to the western borders set by Versailles

He volunteered this to increase levels of trust

Suspiciously, nothing was said of Versailles Eastern borders

This also allowed him to join the LON in 1926

21
Q

Describe the Kellog-Briand pact (1928) and its uses

A

Countries agree to not use aggression to resolve conflict

“Aggression” wasn’t defined clearly, so countries could claim they were not guilty though

It did show a commitment to created peace on the other hand

USA signed despite isolationism

22
Q

Explain the causes of the Great Depression 1929 onwards

A

Initially wages in America were high, USA lent billions of dollars to help European countries recover from WW1 and people invested in company shares

Companies started to overproduce

In 1929, the stock market crashed and people rushed to sell shares

Prices dropped a lot as people did not want to buy shares

23
Q

How did the Great Depression affect America?

A

2000 banks had collapsed

12 mn Americans were unemployed

International loans were recalled

24
Q

How did the great Depression affect Germany and Britain

A

2.5 mn britons were unemployed in 3 years

6 mn germans were unemployed due to failing exports in 3 years

25
Q

How did the Great Depression make the leagues work more difficult?

A
  1. Countries like Britain and France were less willing to help solve international disputes due to domestic distractions
  2. More right wing leaders like Hitler were being elected that opposed the League of Nations and Versailles
  3. Economic issues led to political conflicts such as the Manchuria crisis