League of Nations Flashcards by Annie Lempidaki

what was the league of nations

a group of countries that would work together to solve problems, like a world parliament

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why was the league formed

so countries could work together to achieve:
stop war breaking out
encourage disarmament
improve working conditions
tackle deadly diseases

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was Wilson a part of the league

no, although wilson was a key member in creating the league, Americans didnt want to be a part of it as so many young people died in war. They wanted to isolate themselves from Europe

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which two countries were banned from the league and why

Russia - France and Britain were suspicious of Communist government
Germany -countries who lost the war weren’t allowed - changed in 1926 when Locarno treaty was signed

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what was the assembly

every member of the league could send representatives to assembly
only met once a year
votes had to be unanimous
in charge of deciding if new countries could join + what leagues money was spent on

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what was the council

assembly was too large to react to problems quickly
council met more frequently
four permanent members - Britain, France, Italy and Japan
had the power of veto
4 countries chosen to sit on council for 3 years - later changed to 9 non - permanent members

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what was the Permanent Court of International Justice

court of law that would settle international arguments
any country could bring an issue to the court
11 judges, 4 deputy judges
court selected by council + assembly
could advise parties involved in arguments however wasnt a compulsory ruling

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what were some groups the Special Commisions formed

the International Labour Organisation
the slavery commission
the commission for refugees
the health organisation

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strengths of the league

had a vast membership
as there were so many members - economic sanctions and moral condemnation were daunting punishments for many countries
written into all peace treaties at end of WW1 - all nations involved signed agreement that recognised organisation

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weaknesses of the league

had no army - couldnt force people to obey it
structure was complicated - confused people + slowed action
decisions had to be unanimous - decision making was slow
powerful countries didnt join -USA - undermined league as a global organisation if a country faced with economic sanctions could still trade with USA

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what did the league do in vilna and when was it

1920
first time league asked to settle a dispute - didnt do anythig
Lithuania was a new country made - Vilna was capital
majority of people living there wanted to be polish
polish army took control of vilna
Lithuania asked league for help
league told Poland to remove their army but they refused
France saw Poland as potential ally - Britain didnt want to send troops alone

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what did the league do in the aaland islands and when was it

1921
both Sweden + Finland claimed Aaland isalnds - which were between the two countries - threatened war
league investigated both claims
decided that islands should go to Finland but they couldn’t build forts so couldn’t use as a bade to attack Sweden
Sweden agreed to terms
league successfully avoided war

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who was the dispute about Upper Silesia between

Poland
Germany

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when was the plebiscite held in Upper Silesia to decide who would own it and what was the outcome

1921
Germany won 60% of the votes
Poland claimed most of the people who voted for Germany no longer lived in Upper Silesia
League decided to split it into regions according to how people voted

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why were both Poland and Germany unhappy with the result of Upper Silesia

Poland - recieved half the population but only a third of the land. Around half a million Poles were in confirmed German territory
Germany - lost three quarters of coal mines they had previously owned - valuable source of income
complained to league in 1922 and was awarded the right to import coal at a heavily discounted rate

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when did the agreement about Upper Silesia end and how did affect the relations of the countries involved

ended 1925
relationship between Poland and Germany worsened

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when did the league try to dispute an argument in corfu and was it a success or failure

1923
complete failure

what caused the dispute in corfu

after the war, boundaries of Greece and Albania were still to be agreed on. The League sent an Italian general - Tellini - but while he was surveying an area of Greece he was murdered.

what happened after Tellini was killed

Mussolini was furious and blamed the Greek government
he demanded that the murderers should be executed and that he should be paid compensation
the Greeks didnt know who killed Tellini
Mussolini invaded Corfu as a result

when did Mussolini invade Corfu

31st August 1923

how many people did Mussolini kill in Corfu

how did the league deal with the dispute in Corfu

after Greece apealed they condemned Mussolini but agreed that Greece should pay the compensation , the money would be kept with the league until the killers were found
Mussolini wasnt happy with this and complained to powerful countries such as Britain, France and Japan and persuaded them to undermine the league.
Greece was forced to apologise and pay compensation straight to Italy

what did the dispute in Corfu prove about the league

when a large country threatened a small country with military action, the league proved they could be ignored and overturned by other international groups

when was the dispute in Bulgaria and who was it between

1925
when Greece invaded Bulgaria

how did the league deal with Greece invading Bulgaria

the league condemned Greece and forced them to withdraw troops and pay compensation Greece thought league was hypocritical Greece was a small country and didnt want to risk poor relations with powerful countries in the league so agreed

did the league do anything to help the economic depression faced by the world after the wall street crash

in desperate times people turned to extremist parties the league was powerless to do anything or to control these new party leaders who were willing to resort to violence to get their own way

when were the locarno treaties signed

1925

what did the Locarno treaties say

each country who signed it agreed to no go to war with any of the others if one country broke the treaty they would support the country which was invaded Germany accepted the borders that the Treaty of Versailles defined - e.g Alsace Lorraine

Who was the German foreign minister who suggested the Locarno Treaties and what did he do

Gustav Stresemann he invited the French foreign minister to meet and sign a treaty to imporve relations between the two enemies. He suggested the Locarno Treaties and since Germany wasn't a member of the league, the meetings were organised independently

why were the Locarno Treaties significant

many felt that they represented an end to the German resentment of the Treaty of Versailles as this was signed voluntarily, unlike the Diktat of 1919 some countries saw this as Germany trying to become a peaceful nation, relations improved so much that by 1926, Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations

why do some people say that the Locarno treaties are marked as a failure for the L of N

They should have been at the forefront of international agreements regarding peace, but they had nothing to do with the treaties

when was the Kellogg Briand Pact

1928

what was the Kellogg Briand Pact

65 countries met in Paris to sign an agreement that stated they wouldnt use war to solve disputes The first countries involved were Germany, France and USA and since Germany and USA werent members of the league, the agreement took place outside of the league

significance of the Kellogg Briand Pact

individual countries acted independently from the league and made the league look less powerful

when was the wall street crash

1929

how many Americans were unemployed by 1933

around 15 million

how did the depression affect the league of nations

Hitler and Mussolini werent afraid to us violent methods to get what they wanted to fight aggressive dictators, the league would need an army, but they didnt have one when asking members of the league to use their own armies, they didnt want the expense of war during the depression the only sanctions the league could impose were economic however, in this time of economic crisis, other countries werent willing to stop trading with each other as this would create more unemployment and affect their people

when was the depression

started with wall street crash - 1929 lasted throughout 1930s

why did the wall street crash affect the whole world

in the 20s America had loaned money to lots of different countries and wanted the money back America was a key trader for most countries

what was the incident that the Japansese army staged and when was it

the Mukden Incident September 1931

what was the Mukden Incident

in september 1931 they set off a bomb on the South Manchurian railway they owned in China, blamed the Chinese, and used it as an excuse to invade the region of Manchuria in China

why did the resources in Manchuria make Japan want to invade

much of Japans economy was based on exporting silk to rich countries like the USA, however during the depression people cut back on luxury items therefore stopped buying silk Manchuria had fertile farmland and natural resources.