The League of Nations
Revision PowerPoint
What was the League of Nations?
• An idea of American President Woodrow
Wilson following the first world war
• An international police force made up of
representatives of many countries
• An organisation that would allow
disputes to be settled without resorting
to war, based in Geneva (neutral).
Differing views on how the
League should operate:
America Britain France
A world parliament A simple organisation A strong League
where that would meet capable of enforcing
representatives during emergencies decisions with its
would meet regularly own army
to decide on matter
which affected all of
them
Each of these types of League has advantages and
disadvantages:
Although France’s idea of a strong League would mean it
could be an effective force, the League was meant to be
centred on peace. Potentially, its own army could provoke
another war
Britain’s simpler idea would mean that the League would
merely dealing with emergencies rather than working on
preventing them from of occurring in the first place
America’s version of the League would be expensive and a
complicated to organise, although it might have been the
most effective version in terms of keeping peace
However, the idea of joining the League
was not popular with all Americans…
Many Americans did not think the Americans wanted to stay out of
Treaty of Versailles was fair. As the disputes that might enter their
League was linked with the treaty, troops into the kind of carnage of the
they did not want to be a part of it first world war
Others wanted to avoid the economic Many Americans were anti-French or
cost of joining the League Anti-British. They thought the
League would be run by these
countries and did not want to get
involved with their affairs
Wilson’s party lost the election in 1919. His
opponents promised to follow a policy of
isolationism (staying out of international affairs).
And so America did not join the League of
Nations…
Aims of the League
1. Discourage aggression from any country
2. Encourage co-operation in business and
trade
3. Encourage disarmament
4. Improve working and living conditions for
people across the world
When it opened, some countries
were not members of the League:
America:- had become isolationist
Germany:- As a defeated country who was
blamed for staring the Great war,
Germany was not invited to join
Russia:- Were not invited to join the
League, mainly due to their Communist
government
The Structure of the League of
Nations
Successes in the 1920s
• With the League’s help over 400 000 prisoners of
war were returned home
• The slavery Commission brought about the freeing
of over 200 000 slaves in British-owned Sierra-
Leone and organised raids against slave owners
and traders in Burma
• The Health Committee worked hard to defeat
leprosy and malaria. It later became the World
Health Organisation
• Sweden accepted the League’s decision to give the
Aaland islands to Finland. The two countries thereby
avoided going to war for them
• The League divided Upper Silesia between
Germany and Poland after a plebiscite showed a
clear divide. Both countries accepted this decision.
1929 Wall Street Crash!
This is MAJOR turning point for the league:
*Many members of the League were now focussed on
solving domestic problems.
*The crash created a depression in Europe causing
unemployment and poverty. Dictators rose to power
as they promised a solution to problems. These were
new problems for the League to face
*Had a major effect on Japan who relied heavily on
international trade. This would eventually contribute
towards the invasion of Manchuria
The 1930s…
Were BAD for the League:
*The 1930s are always seen as bad for the
league by comparison with the 1920s.
Remember this for exam questions that ask
about both
*There were three huge failures for the League
in the 1930s:
1. The Japanese invasion of Manchuria
2. The failure of the disarmament conference
3. The invasion of Abyssinia by Italy
Failure #1: Manchuria
• There was an explosion on the Manchurian railway
that ran though China. The Japanese depended on
this railway to transport goods into their country,
whose natural resources and agriculture were
limited by their mountainous terrain.
• The Japanese invaded China on the grounds that it
needed to safeguard its railway. However, they
later also bombed Shanghai
•China appealed to the League for help and the
League ruled that the Japanese should return
Manchuria to Chinese rule.
•But Japan continued to invade new areas of
China
•The League discussed sanctions but its
member were not prepared to send troops to
enforce its decision…
Why did it fail?
*Japan was too far away
*The League were worried about offending Japan who
was an important member of the League
*Britain and France were more concerned about the
problems resulting from the depression in their own
countries
*Russia, the only country with troops and resources
enough to combat the problem quickly in the region,
was not a member of the League
Failure 2: The Disarmament conference
1932-3
In February 1932 the League of Nations began the long-
awaited disarmament conference.
It produced resolutions to limit the size of artillery and
tanks, ban the bombing of civilians and chemical warfare.
HOWEVER, nothing was agreed upon as to how they would
enforce these limits.
They were also unsure as to what to do about Germany-
should all countries disarm to her level or should Germany
be allowed to re-arm to the new universal lower level as
the TOV had been too harsh?
Key events at the Disarmament
Conference
July 1932 Germany walked out after the other
countries failed to agree to all countries
disarming to its level
December 1932 An agreement was finally reached to treat
the Germans equally
January 1933 Germany announced that it was coming
back
February 1933 Hitler started to re-arm Germany anyway in
secret
October 1933 Hitler walked out of the Conference
permanently and soon after withdrew
Germany from the League of Nations
Failure 3: Mussolini’s invasion of
Abyssinia 1935
The pale grey areas were
Italian territory in
eastern Africa.
You can see why Italy, who
wanted to expand her
empire, would choose
this area of land.
Italy also wanted revenge
after an embarassing
failed attempt to take
Abyssinia in 1896
The background
• Like Japan, Italy was an important member of
the League
• Like Japan, Italy wanted to expand its empire
• Unlike Japan, Italy was right on the League’s
doorstep
• Unlike Japan, Abyssinia had borders with
British colonies
• UNLIKE Japan, the League could not claimthe
problem was too far away to deal with.
This would be a very real test for the League
The events
• 1934 There was a dispute
between Italian and Ethiopian
soldiers at an oasis 8oKM inside
Abyssinia.
•Mussolini claimed this was
Italian territory
• Mussolini began preparing an
army for an invasion
•The Abyssinian emperor
appealed to the League for help
So what did the League do?
Very little…
*The League was anxious to keep Italy on side. Italy was
their best ally against Hitler.
*Britain and France signed an agreement with Mussolini
about standing united against Germany and the
problem in Abyssinia was not even discussed
*There was much talking and negotiating but nothing
was actually done to discourage Mussolini
*Eventually a committee reported to the League that
neither side was responsible for the conflict at the
oasis. The League put forward a plan that would give
Italy some of Abyssinia. But Mussolini rejected it.
The situation worsens…
• October 1935 A full-scale Italian invasion of Abyssinia commenced
• It was a clear sign of aggression and the League’s covenant (set of guidelines)
made it clear that sanctions should be imposed.
• It banned sales of arms, rubber, metals and loans to Italy.
• However, these sanctions caused economic problems e.g. British coal-workers
lost jobs because of ban of exports to Italy
• And Britain and France were making secret plans behind the League’s back,
offering Mussolini more of Abyssinia in return for stopping his invasion
• Eventually, Hitler’s invasion of the Rhineland made many countries unwilling to
upset Italy any further, as their support against Hitler seemed crucial.
The League watched helplessly. Mussolini annexed the whole
country. The League had failed.
What were the reasons for the League of
Nations’ failures during the 1930s?
Self-interest Absence of Lack of Troops
important
We have
our own countries
You need to know
problems!
how each of these
contributed towards
TOV it was meant Decisions were Sanctions were
the
to protect was
League’s
slow
failures
ineffective
unfair
Exam-style questions
What were the main aims of the League of Nations?
What was the structure of the League of Nations?
Why did America not join the League of Nations?
Explain how the views of Britain, France and America differed as to how the
League should be run
Explain why some countries were not members of the League when it opened.
Explain the successes that the League had during the 1920s
Explain why the League failed to deal with Abyssinia/Manchuria effectively
To what extent was the League of Nations a complete failure/ how
successful was it at keeping peace
