League of nations

general

Why was the USA opposed to the league of nations

• millions of americans had german ancestors to they hated the treaty of versailles

• before the USA could join the LON, wilson needed the congress’ approval

• if the league imposed sanctions (stopping trade with a country which was acting aggressively) american trade would suffer the most

• joining the LON could result in US soldiers settling every little bit of conflict around the world

• league might be dominated by Britain and France and would be called to defend there empires → many of the US were anti-empires

What was the congress (american parliament’s) verdict on the LON

• they saw it as an opportunity to defeat wilson

• voted against the LON

what problems might the US not joining the league bring to the league

• LON was much less threatening without the US + threat of the US stopping trade

• US was one of the world’s most powerful countries

• loses credibility- it was the US’s idea and now they are not even in it

• Britain and France were not as committed to the league

What was the league of nations

an organisation that could save international problems without resorting to war

what were the initial disagreements about the LON

• they all though it should be a different type of league

  • wilson wanted a world parliament

  • britain wanted a simple organisation that only met in emergencies

  • France wanted a strong league with its own army

Wilson got his way about the LON- what was his vision for the League

• all the major nations need to join the league

• they would disarm

• protect each other if invaded

• if they had a dispute with another country they would take it to the league

what was isolationist and how and when did the US become it

• 1920 election

  • wilsons democratic party still continued to campaign for the US involvement in the League

• the republican Warren Harding campaigned for the US to become isolationist

  • isolationist meant that the US would not get involved in international affairs or alliances. The US would isolate itself from European affairs and focus on itself

• US stayed isolationist till WW2

• Harding won, wilson was defeated

4 problems caused by the membership of the league

• USA was not part of the league → trade sanctions (one of the key powers of the league) were less effective as the US didn’t apply them

• Angered Germany → they were not invited to join the league until 1926

• Powerful countries left the league → Japna withdrew in 1933 and Italy in 1937. Theses two countries were permanent members of the LON council. Germany left in 1933 and the USSR in 1939

• Britain and France guided LON policy, they were not fully committed to the league and had other priorities

what were the different parts of the league

• the assembly

• the council (the most influential part of the league)

• the permanent court of international justice

• the secretariat

• the international labour organisation

• the commissions

• refugee committee

The assembly (LON)

• the leagues parliament

• every country in the league had a representative

• met once a year

• recommended unknowingly the best cause of action to the council

• decisions had to be unanimous

• had to be agreed on by all members (weakness, it was rare that countries agreed)

the permanent court of justice

• made up of judges from the member countries

• aim was to settle disputes peacefully

• but the court had no way of making sure that the countries followed it’s rulings

the council

• most influential part of the League

• met 5 times a year

• permanent members and temporary members

• each member had a veto

  • meant that one permanent member could stop council acting even if all members had agreed

• main aim was to resolve disputes by talking

• used moral condemnation, economic and financial sanctions

• military force (no army→ voluntary army)

The international labour organisation

• aim was to improve conditions of working people throughout the world

• they collected statistics and information about working conditions and how to improve them and tried to persuade members countries to adopt suggestions

the secretariat

• civil service of the LON → served all the other parts of the league

• kept records of leagues meeting and prepared reports

• secretariat brought together experts from across the world on key issues such as health, disarmament and economic matters

the commisions

• mandates commissions

  • after WW1, former colonies of germany and it’s allies ended up as league of nations mandates ruled by B+F on behalf of the league

  • role was to ensure that B+F acted in the interest of the people and not it’s own interests

• slavery commision

  • role was to abolish slavery around the world and help people who were treated like slaves

• health committee

  • aimed to deal with dangerous diseases and educate people about health and sanitation

• refugee committee

  • at the end of WW1, there were hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict. Biggest refugee areas were former russian territories- Balkans, Greece, Armenia and Turkey

  • aim was to help refugees

2 strengths and weaknesses about the organisation and structure of the league of nations

• weaknesses

  • decisions of the assembly had to be unanimous, this made decision making slow- as the likelihood of all countries agreeing was low

  • the assembly only met once a year → too infrequent to address key international issues

• strengths

  • the international labour organisation was established to improve working conditions around the world

  • the league established a number of new commissions to improve living conditions around the world e.g the slavery committee

2 strengths and weaknesses about the membership of the LON

• strengths

  • the LON had 59 members by the 1930’s → large membership showed commitment of theses countries to peace

  • the joining of germany in 1926 was a sign of improving relations- especially between germany and france. help contribute to world peace and germany’s pride was restored when they were invited to join

• Weaknesses

  • Britain and France guided LON policy, but were not fully committed to the league and had other priorities

  • USA was not part of the league→ B+F did not have the resources to fill the gap left by the USA. Trade sanctions were less effective and less of a threat as the US did not apply them

2 strengths and weaknesses of the power of the league of nations

• strengths

  • many of the members of the league were committed to peace, after the horrors of the great war → resolving disputes by talking should have worked as no one wanted a war

  • collective security (acting together to prevent war) should have worked → the league had 59 members so the threat of having such a large number of countries turn against an aggressor country should have been enough to prevent aggressive actions

• weaknesses

  • the council of the LON could morally condemn a country acting as an aggressor→ this was just a statement they did not have the power to stop an aggressive country

  • council of the LON could use military force against an aggressor country but the league did not have it’s own army → ineffective power

1 strength and weakness of the aims of the LON

• Strength

  • after the huge loss of the war, countries were determined to prevent war → therefore the league’s aims were accepted

• weakness

  • disarmament was unachievable → countries wanted to have a strong army to defend themselves in case of another war- especially france who suffered territorial losses

what year was the LON created, how many members did it have

1920

42 members

which countries were not initially allowed to join the league

• USSR- B+F did not trust communist states

• Germany- they were not allowed to join until they showed they were a piece loving country

why were B+F ineffective leaders of the LON

• not committed to the league- had other priorities

• france were prepared to ignore the league in order to protect themselves

• france were concerned about germany attacking them

• concerned about rebuilding british trade and empire

• both weakened by WW1

• B+F doubted how affectie the league could be

• felt that trade sanctions would only work if US applied them

• they felt america was the only country that would actually make the league work

what were the 3 powers of the league and why were they ineffective

• moral condemnation= words

  • difficult to enforce

• economic sanctions

  • us was not part of the league→ aggressive countries could still trade with the US- a very powerful trading partner

• military force

  • league didn’t have it’s own army, especially as WW1 just had happened, unwilling to volunteer men