league of nations

what was the league of nations

an international organisation to keep national peace

one of Wilsons 14 points

who was the leader of Britain during the league of nations

David Lloyd George

who was the leader of France during the league of nations

Georges Clemenceau

who was the leader of the USA during the league of nations

Woodrow Wilson

what initial disagreements were there about the league of nations

• Wilson wanted it to be a world parlement

• Lloyd wanted it to be a simple organisation

• Clemanceau wanted a strong league with its own army

what was Wilsons vision for the league of nations?

he wanted it to be a major part of the peace treaty

why were most people in Europe willing to give Wilsons plans a try

• they thought no country would invade them if they had the US and other powerful countries would stop trading with them or send their army’s to stop them

why was the USA opposed to the league of nations

• empires

• death

• trade

• treaty of versilles

empires

some feared the league would be dominated by Britain or France and the US would be called to defend their empires

death

some thought joining the league meant sending US troops to settle every conflict around the world

trade

if the league imposed sanctions american businesses would also suffer

• would have to stop trading with a country that was becoming aggressive

treaty of versailles

many Americans hated the treaty especially the ones with German heritage.

what was Americas parliments verdict on the league of nations

• they didn’t support it

• voted against it

what problems might it cause not having the US in the league

• LON was much less threatening without US

• the threat of trading sanctions was much less threatening without US

what were wilson’s aims in establishing the LON

• he wanted it to be a world parliment

• he wanted all major nations to join the league

• he aimed for the nations that joined to disarm

• he wanted any nations having a dispute to take it to the league to settle it

what were the 4 aims of the league

• to discourage aggression from any nation

• to encourage countries to cooperate in business and trade

• to encourage nations to disarm

• to improve living and working conditions in all parts of the world

what was article (rule) 10 about? league of nations rules

• members of the LON could prevent war by defending land or interests of all nations. large or small.

• collective security

what was another role of the league

• to uphold and enforce the treaty

• to run some of the territories of defeated countries from the war

when was the league of nations created and how many members did it have

january 1920

42 members

how many members did it have in the 1930

59 members

which countries were initially not allowed to join the league and why

Germany - until it could prove it was peacefull

USSR - B + F didn’t trust communist states

why were britain and france ineffective as leaders of the league of nations

• they had other priorities - B= rebuilding British trade + expand empire

  F= concerned about Germany attacking them. want to defend their borders prepared to ignore league if they have to in order to defend them selves.

• both had been weakened by WW1

• not as powerful as before

• not enough resources to fill gap from USA

• some British politicians didn’t want to stay in LON

• USA was the only nation with energy, resources or influence to make the LON work

• trade sanctions would only work if USA applied them

what problems might be caused by the membership of the league?

• lost lots of power because USA is not part of LON

• angered Germany - not invited until 1926

• powerful countries left league - Japan-1933, Italy-1937,Germany-1933,

  USSR-1939

• B + F guided LON policy not fully

the assembly

decisions by the assembly had to be unanimous. had to be agreed on by all member. this was a huge weakness, as it was rare all countries agreed.

what was this?

the leagues parliment

membership?

they had to vote on addiding new members to the league

what did the assembly do?

theu made unanimous decisions

how often did the assembly meet

once a year

the permanent court of international justice

it was based in the Hague in the Netherlands. made up of judges from the member countries.

what was the aim of it

setteling disputes between countries peacefully

limitations

there was no way of making countries follow its ruling

the council (most influencial part of the league)

the council was a smaller group than the assembly representing the most powerful league members

how often did the council meet

5 times a year

membership

selected for 3 years (britain, france, japan) - permanent members

what did each permanent member have

a veto - one permanent member could stop the league from doing something

main aim of the council

to resolve disputes by talking

range of powers of the council

• decide which country was the aggressor - moral condemnation

• refuse to trade with the aggressor - economic + financial sanctions

• military used on aggressor - military force (they don’t have their own army)

the commissions

mandates commissions

after WW1 former colonies of Germany and its allies ended up as league mandates ruled by Britain and France on behalf of the league

role and aim of mandates commissions

• to report to the LON how people in mandates were being treated

• make sure B + F acted in the interests of people in that territory

refugees committee

at the end of WW1 there was hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict. Biggest refugee areas were former Russian territories - balkans, Greece, Armenia, Turkey

aim of refugee committee

it was to help the refugees

slavery commission

role and aim

• to abolish slavery around the world

• tried to help people who weren’t slaves but were treated like slaves

health committee

it brought experts together and worked with charities to spread new ideas and to develop programmes to fight disease

the secretariat

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

• kept records of league meetings & prepared reports

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

the international labour organisation

it brought together employers, governments and workers representative to improve working conditions

vilna: polish - Lithuania dispute

when was it?

1920-1929

what country were Poland and Lithuania originally a part of

russian empire

what happened on 7 October 1920

Vilna became the new seat of the Lithuanian government

what happened 2 days later on 9 October 1920

Vilna was annexed (taken over) by a polish army

how did the league respond

ordered polish army to with draw from the region

what was the outcome?

Poland refusd and the league was powerless to stop conflict. B+F were not willing to send troops

what was the main reason for the leagues failure to resolve this dispute

B+F were not prepared to escalate the situation

was vilna a success or a failure

failure

Aaland island dispute. when?

1921

why was there a dispute?

sweedish islanders wanted independance from Finland

what did the league do

LON told Finish troops to leave

both sides listened

how did the league respond?

they gave Aaland islands to fSnland but with protection from Sweedish islanders, removing finnish troops

what was the outcome of the Aaland islands dispute

both countries accepted

Corfu crisis 1923

who was the Corfu crisis between

Greece vs Italy

what happened on the 27 august

Tellini and his team were ambushed and killed

how did italian leader Mussolini react to this

he was furious and blammed the Greek government

he bombarded then occupied Corfu and killed its people

how did the league of nations initially respond to this

• condemned Mussolinis actions

• suggested Greece pay compensation

• LON would pay if Tillinis killer were found

what was Mussolini’s reaction to the leagues response

• refused to let matters rest

• threatened to leave LON if it was not dealt with

how did B+F react to Mussolinis frustration

• france backed mussolini

• Britain tried to force Mussolini out of court.

• Britain was not prepared to act without france

in the end Mussolini got his way what did Greece have to do

• they had to appoligise and pay compensations directly to Italy

what was the main reason for the leagues failure in the Corfu crisis

• B+F= disagreed on what actions to take

• not commited, Fracne had other priorities

• they didn’t want to anger Mussolini because Italy was a permanent member of LON council

was the Corfu crisis a success or failure

it was a failure

Bulgaria

1925

what happened in October 1925 and how did Bulgaria react

• Greek troops invaded Bulgaria after an incident on the border were some troops were killed

• Bulgaria appealed to the league for help

what was the leagues response?

• demanded both sides to stand down

• Greece has to withdraw troops from Bulgaria

what was the outcome of Bulgaria border dispute

• B+F backed LON

• Greece had to pay £45,000 in compensations

• LON threatened sanctions if Greece didn’t listen

what was the main reason for the leagues success in Bulgaria

the powers were united in their decision

how successful were the leagues attempts at peacekeeping in the 1920’s?

• vilna: 1920-29 - they were too idealistic and didn’t plan what to do if they declined their plan and they weren’t present. (failure)

• Corfu crisis: 1923 - they accepted it but learned from it by creating new protocol although this was inefficient as the government rejected it (failure)

• Bulgaria: 1923 - it was successful but some Greeks thought it was unfair the LON used threats to show power and make them accept. (success)

• Aaland: 1921 - there were no further arguments between the two and accepted. (success)

what were the 3 powers of the LON

moral condemnation:

• words were difficult to enforce

economic sanctions:

• US not part of LON so aggressive countries could still trade with US (a powerful trading partner)

military force:

• LON and no army

• countries didn’t want to volenter their own

how important was the LON humanitarian work

refugees

successes:

• 400,000 prisoners were returned to their homes

• worked quickly to stop diseases from spreading (cholara, small pox)

failures:

• short of funds

• work became harder because the international situation became tense

working conditions

successes:

• banned poisonous white lead from paint

• limited childrens working hours

• campaigned for better working conditions

• 48 hours a week, 8 hour working day

failures:

• refused to sign petition for less hours

• International Labour Organisation had a lack of funds and power

• couldn’t do more than name and shame

health

successes:

• sponsored research on infectious diseases (in singapore, london and denmark)

• helped develop medicines and vaccinations for leprosy and malaria

• it was one of the most successful

slavery and forced labour

successes:

• freed 200,000

• organised raids against slave owners and traders

• challenged the use of forced labour. African workers death rate was 50%. LON brought it down to 4%

other actions

successes:

• kept records of social injustice eg. drug trafficking, prostitution and slavery

• black listed large companies involved in drug trade

• made recomendations on particular problems eg. marking shipping lanes and international highway code

how successful was the LON at resolving conflicts/ border disputes in the 1920’s? unsuccessful

unsuccessful

• league decisions were ignored : vilna- ignored bc the league had no power.

• the league was powerless without an army:

  corfu crisis

  vilna - they didn’t have an army to get Poland out of Vilna

• Britain and France acting in their own interest:

  corfu crisis - B wanted to send war ships but F was backing Italy

• permanent members were treated differently to other members:

  Mussolini invaded Greece but Greece was forced to pay compensation

• league sometimes disunited in their decisions:

  corfu crisis - B=to send warships and F= backing Italy

how successful was the LON at resolving conflicts/ border disputes in the 1920’s? successful

successful

• league decisions were accepted and countries obeyed league:

  Aaland dispute

  Bulgaria

• war was avoided

• league members were mostly united in their decisions

  Bulgaria crisis

  vilna

  Aaland

how successful were the leagues attempts at peace keeping in the 1920s? (other than border disputes) (disarmament)

disarmament: (failure)

• Germany disarmed but no others did to the same extent as Germany

• no country was prepared to disarm first

• at the Washington conference 1921 - USA, Japan, Britain agreed to limit size of their navies but that was it.

give examples of these 1920s international agreements

1921 - USA, B, F, Japan limited the size of their navies - Washington conference

1922 - Germany re-established diplomatic relations - rapolo treaty

1924 - the US leant money to Germany to pay of reparations - the Dawes plan

1925 - Germany accepted western borders paved the way for G joining LON - locarono treaty

the Dawes plan

• 1924

• the US leant money to G to help them pay of the reparations

• this helped Germany economically

• this meant they could rebuild industries which increased employment, which increased trade, which increased profit

• it also helped the economies of B+F as they could trade with Germany

how did the Dawes plan help the league to fulfil its aims of peacekeeping

• increased trade between countries so it meant they were less likely to go to war with each other.

Manchurian crisis

1931 - 1933