League Of Nations Flashcards
Ideas for the League
Wilson: world parliament where representatives from all nations met together regularly to decide on matters.
Lloyd: simple organisation where would get together just in emergencies.
Clemenceau: a strong league with its own army.
Wilson won. All major nations should join, disarm, if they had a dispute take it to League, protect each other if invaded, if a member broke the Convenant trade should be stopped and send troops to stop fighting.
Why did the USA not join the League?
- League was supposed to enforce the T of V but millions of Americans with German ancestors, hated the Treaty.
- If the League imposed sanctions (eg. stopping world trade) it may be America who suffer the most.
- Some feared that joining meant sending US soldiers to settle conflicts, no one wanted more casualties.
- Some feared that League would be dominated by GB or FR and defend their own empires. Many in USA were anti-empires.
Aims of the League
- Discourage agression from any nation.
- Encourage countries to co-operate in business + trade.
- Encourage nations to disarm.
- Improve living + working conditions of people around the world.
Membership
GB + FR were the most powerful countries in the League. Italy + Japan were also permanent members of the Council. GB + FR not strong enough to make the League work, without USA.
Assembly
Leagues parliament. Every country in League sent a representative here. Recommended action to Council. Could vote on admitting new members, appointing temporary members of the Council, budget of League and other ideas by the Council. Met once a year. Decisions unanimous (had to be agreed by all members of assembly).
Secretariat
Civil service. Kept records of the League meetings and prepared reports for different agencies of League. Had specialist sections covering areas like health, disarmament and economic matters.
The ILO
Bought up together employers, govs and workers representatives once a year. Aim: improve working conditions. Collected stadistics + info. Tried to persuade member countries to adopt its suggestions.
SUCCES: got rid of lead in paint (poisonous), limit working hours for children.
FAILURE: failed to achieve an 8 hour working day for industrial workers, aims would cost money so they were reluctant.
Council
Smaller than assembly. Met 5 or + times a year. Permanent members: BR, FR, IT, J). Temporary members elated by assembly for a period of 3 years. Permanent members had a veto (1 permanent member could stop Council acting even though all other members agreed). If there were disputes between members, members bought the problem to Council + sorted through discussion. If this didn’t work they could use: moral condemnation (decision of which country is the agressor + condem the action), economic + financial sanctions (no trading), military force (armed forces of member country could be used against agressor).
Permanent Court of International Justice
Settles disputes peacefully. Made up of judges from member countries. It would give a decision on a border dispute if asked. Gave legal advice to Assembly/Council.
Health organisation
AIM: tackle epidemics, eradicate global diseases, improve world health.
SUCCESS: helped USSR to control typhus epidemic + combat plague in Siberia (1920). Helped prevent cholera + typhoid spreading in Turkish/Greece refugee crisis (1920). Tries to eradicate malaria, yellow fever + leprosy worldwide. Vaccines
Refugee Committee
AIM: help refugees in crisis, repatriating + settling them.
SUCCESS: repatriated 5 million prisoners after WW1, established camps in Turkish & Greek crisis to house refugees, fed them, prevented deaths from disease, helped settle them, established NANSEN passport (allowed stateless people travel), helped over 1 mill refugees in Paraguay & Middle East with crisis.
Slavery Comission
AIM: outlaw slavery + slave trade. Free existing slaves.
SUCCESS: international convention held in 1926 - defined modern slavery could be outlawed, encouraged nations to outlaw slavery + slave trade, freed 200,000 slaves in Siberia, Ethiopia outlawed slavery to join the League, helped reduced death rate of African workers from 50% to 4% by building the British Tanzanian railway, attacked slavers in Burma, started to act against enforced prositution.
Drugs Commission
AIM: eliminate the production + traffic of prohibited drugs globally.
FAILURE: closed 4 companies involved in international drug trade, 1 German, 1 French + 2 Dutch
Disarmament Commission
AIM: peace via global disarmament.
FAILURE: 1st disarmament plan (rejected by GB in 1923). In 1932-1934 world disarmament conference in Geneva. Failed. G demanded global disarmament or right of G to have the same arms as FR. Neither possible. Disarmament was difficult to achieve as key powers started to rearm like J, IT, G + USSR.
Impact of Great Depression
- US loans dried up, businesses in many countries went bust, leading to unemployment.
- Some countries tried to protect their own industries by bringing in tariffs to stop imports but this meant that trading partners did the same & trade got even worse, more businesses went bust + more unemployment.
- Many countries started to rearm as a way of trying to get industries working + giving jobs to unemployed.
- As neighbours rearmed, states began to fear that they might have other plans so they built up their own forces.
