League of Nations

Give four aims of the League of Nations.

prevent war, encourage disarmament, improve working conditions, tackle disease

Why were the League of Nation’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland?

Switzerland had been neutral in WW1

Give three ways that the League of Nations aimed to prevent war.

replace competing empires with independent states, protect territorial rights, protect rights of countries to decide own futures

Give two ways that the League of Nations aimed to encourage disarmament.

expecting countries to cut militaries to minimum necessary, working together to prevent new arms race

Give one way that the League of Nations aimed to improve working conditions.

setting up International Labour Organisation

Give two ways that the League of Nations aimed to tackle disease.

cooperating with the Red Cross, setting up World Health Organisation

How many countries originally joined the League of Nations?

42

Which three very powerful countries did not join the League of Nations?

USA, Germany, Russia

Why wasn’t Russia allowed to join the League of Nations?

Britain and France were suspicious of communists

Why did the USA not join the League of Nations?

US Senate believed in isolationism

When did Germany join the League of Nations?

1926

When did the USSR join the League of Nations?

1934

What was the Court of International Justice within the League of Nations?

team of 11 judges and 4 deputies would solve disputes

What was the Assembly within the League of Nations?

international parliament that met once a year - decisions had to be unanimous

What was the Council within the League of Nations?

8 countries who could veto the Assembly’s decisions

Who were the four permanent members of the League of Nations’s Council?

Britain, Italy, France, Japan

What was the Secretariat within the League of Nations?

civil service and administration

Give four of the Special Commissions within the League of Nations.

International Labour Organisation, Health Organisation, Disarmament Commission, Slavery Commission

Give four ways that the League of Nations dealt with disputes.

arbitration, moral condemnation, sanctions, military intervention

Give three reasons why the International Labour Organisation was a success.

got 77 countries to adopt minimum wage, recommended not using white lead in paint, helped Greece set up sickness benefits

Give two reasons why the International Labour Organisation was a failure.

didn’t ban child labour, didn’t limit the working day to 8 hours

Give three reasons why the Health Committee was a success.

sent doctors to refugee camps, started international campaign to kill mosquitoes, helped Russia educate people on typhus

Give one reason why the Slavery Commission was a success.

helped abolish slavery in Sierra Leone in 1928 - led to 200,000 freed slaves

Briefly describe the dispute over Vilna in 1920.

supposed to be Lithuanian capital but most of population was Polish. Poland occupied city and Lithuania complained. Poland refused to remove troops so kept Vilna

Briefly describe the dispute over Upper Silesia in 1921.

Germany and Poland both wanted Upper Silesia. population held a plebiscite and Germany won 60% but Poland said that the vote was unfair. Upper Silesia was split up, with Germany receiving more land but Poland keeping more industrial areas.

Briefly describe the dispute over the Aland Islands in 1921.

islands had originally been part of Finland but most of population wanted to be Swedish. League decided that the islands could remain Finnish but could not be militarised

Briefly describe the dispute over Corfu in 1923.

Italian general and his team murdered in Greece. Mussolini sent troops to occupy Corfu. League ordered Mussolini to leave but were undermined. Greece was forced to apologise to Italy and pay compensation.

Briefly describe the dispute over Bulgaria in 1925.

soldiers on Greek/Bulgarian border fired at each other and a Greek soldier was killed. Greece invaded in retaliation. League decided that Greece should withdraw and pay compensation

What year were the Locarno Treaties?

1925

Give four of the terms of the Locarno Treaties.

accepted borders outlined in ToV, Rhineland made neutral land, agreed not to go to war, agreed to submit disputes to LoN

What year was the Kellogg-Briand Pact?

1928

What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact?

62 countries agreed not to use war to solve disputes

What was the impact of the Locarno Treaties/Kellogg-Briand Pact on the League of Nations?

took place outside League - looked irrelevant

Did the Locarno Treaties improve the chances of peace?

vital in healing wounds of WW1, made Germany feel more secure

Did the Kellogg-Briand Pact improve the chances of peace?

little impact on stopping rising miliatrism

What year was the Wall Street Crash?

1929

By 1933, how many Americans were unemployed due to the Great Depression?

13 million

Give three global impacts of the Great Depression.

global companies’ profits dropped, less international trade, banks recalled loans to Europe

Give three tactics that nationalists like Hitler and Mussolini used to become more popular.

blaming other groups for problems, promising to restore national pride, promising state-run economies

What was the impact of the Great Depression on the League of Nations’ powers?

moral condemnation was useless and countries couldn’t afford economic sanctions

Where is Manchuria?

north-east China

What year was the Manchurian Crisis?

1931

Give three reasons why Japan wanted to invade Manchuria.

army wanted to make Japan great again, Manchuria was rich in resources, Japan had claimed Manchuria before

Briefly describe the Mukden Incident.

explosion on South Manchurian Railway, Japanese blamed Chinese for attack, Japanese army invaded Manchuria, Japanese put puppet ruler in charge

Give three reasons why many League members were reluctant to get involved in the Manchurian Crisis.

China/Japan far from Europe, Japanese blamed China for attack, China was weak/disorganised

What did the League of Nations do in response to the Manchurian Crisis?

issued moral condemnation after Lytton’s report, Japan left League, 1937 fully invaded China

What event in 1934 led to the Abyssinian Crisis?

Italian soldiers clashed with Abyssinians at Wal Wal

Give three reasons why Mussolini wanted to invade Abyssinia.

had two colonies bordering Abyssinia, had been defeated by Abyssinia before, rich in resources

What did the League of Nations do in response to the Abyssinian Crisis?

issued moral condemnation, Italy invaded, removed Abyssinian emperor, Selassie asked League for help, Italy left League

What economic sanctions did the League not impose on Italy, leading to the Abyssinian Crisis?

coal, steel, iron, oil

What vital passageway did Britain and France fail to close during the Abyssinian Crisis?

Suez Canal

What was the Hoare-Laval Pact?

British and French foreign ministers planned to give Italy half of Abyssinia

Give three major weaknesses of the League of Nations.

USA refused to join, trade sanctions were ineffective, powerful countries not deterred by moral condemnation