L.O.N Flashcards
Aims
1) To Discourage aggression from any nation
2) Encourage countries to CO-OP especially in business and trade
3) Encourage nations to disarm
4) To improve living and working conditions
Leaders Aims
Lloyd George - Simple organisation to meet in
emergencies
George Clemenceau - A strong league with Army
Woodrow Wilson - All citizens represented by their leaders to work together to prevent war/Aggression
USA never Joined Because:
1) Eco cost, Isolationism - Stay out of European conflict
2) L.O.N liked to T.O.V - Many Immigrants were german and didn’t approve
3) Too many Deaths - USA didnt want to be universal Police
4) Anti British/French mood - America wanted to be free of other peoples problems
Big Power Membership of L.O.N
France: Whole time Britain: Whole time Italy: up to 1937 Japan: Up to 1933 Germany 1926 - 1933 USSR: 1934 Onwards USA: Never Joined
How league bettered the world
Refugees: - Worked hard to get prisoners/refugees home, around 400,000 returned, worked hard to remove cholera/small pox/dysentery in refugee camps
Transport: Produced international highway code, recommended shipping lanes
Health: Worked go get of leprosy, campaigned to reduce yellow fever and malaria by exterminating mosquitoes
Working conditions: - Got rid of poisonous white lead in paint, limited working hours of small children, campaigned for better conditions, introduced 48hr weeks, 8 hr days
Social problems: Blacklisted firms involved in drug trade, freed sierra leone slaves, organised raids against slave owners/traffickers in Burma
Corfu 1923
Example of stopping war
Dispute: - Italian general killed in greece while doing L.O.N work
- Mussolini angry at greeks
- Invaded greek Island of corfu
- Greeks asked for help from league
What league did - Council met
- Condemned Mussolini, told him to leave corfu
- Told greeks to give some money to league
What happened: - Mussolini refused decision
- Stayed in corfu
- League changed decision
- Told greeks to apologise and pay Italy
- Greeks did so and Italys gave corfu back
Failure Of L.O.N - Manchuria crisis 1931 - 1933
Background: China - Owned Manchuria, needed its minerals, resettled surplus pop there
Japan - silk exports collapsed,1000’s of peasants need new land, saw Manchuria as buffer to USSR, Army wanted to add Manchuria to Japanese empire
Manchuria: Rich in minerals, fertile soil, 94% chines pop, only 1% japenese
Events
Sept 1931: Japanese army provoke incident at mukden, invaded Manchuria, china appeals to L.O.N
Jan 1932: Japan attacks shanghai
Feb 1932: Japanese complete occupation making semi-independent state manchuko
1933: Occupied Jehol and withdraws from shanghai
Manchuria Cont
League Action + Result
1) Ordered Japanese to withdraw 1931 - Jap Gov agrees, Army refuses, No withdrawal
2) Appointed Lytton commission to investigate 1932 - Japan used force to take Manchuria, China refuses acceptance of manchukou suggests japan withdraw so Manchuria can become semi- dependant state
3) a) League accepted Lytton report
b) Instructed members not to recognise Manchokou- a) Japan accepted Manchuria, b) Left league in 1933, C) Withdraw from shanghai, d) Occupied Jehol, Suffered international isolation until 1936
Failure of L.O.N - Abyssinia Crisis 1934-1936
Background: - Abyssinia (Ethiopia) ruled by Haile Selassie was only independent black African State
- Mussolini built up Armed forces and was determined to expand Italys Empire with target being Abysinnia
Events
Dec 1934 - Italian Troops provoke clash at wal-wal as an excuse for a quarrel
Oct 1935 - Italy Invades Abyssinia
Dec 1935 - Britain/France Produced Hoare-Laval plan: 2/3 of Abyssinia to Italy for troop withdrawal, Public Outcry against so plan abandoned
May 1936 - Italy Conquers Abyssinia, uniting it with Somalia and Eritrea to make Italian East Africa
Abyssinia Cont
League action + Results
1) Dec 1934 offer of arbitration - Italy Rejects
2) Jan/Feb 1935 Debate in response to Abyssinia’s request for help - No action
3) May/Sept 1935 Hoare-Laval Plan - Abyssinia rejects
4) Oct 1935 Condemned Italian Invasion, Imposed Eco sanctions against Italy - Little effect as Oil, Iron, Steel, Coal not inc. USA and Germany Still traded
5) March 1936 Threatened Oil embargo on Italy No impact, Italy Conquered
6) March 1936 Hitler remilitarises Rhineland while focus on Abyssinia
7) June 1936 Haille Selassie addresses L.O.N for help - No additional league help
8) July 1936 Sanctions against Italy abandoned - Italy Kept Abyssinia, turned to Germans for support and Left L.O.N
Disputes in the 1920’s
Vilna 1920 - League said they should give military action against Poland but no one did as afraid of war
Upper Silesia 1921 - Let vote be fair with no commotion or corruption, Both parties ended up with balanced fairly won land
Aaland Island 1921- Not hard case but stopped potential war with fair result
Corfu 1923 - Initially worked out with swift ruling but unfairly changed behind the scenes which goes against credibility
Bulgaria 1925 - League dealt with situation but repercussions left some nations feeling a bit annoyed and lost patients with league
Depression - Impacts on L.O.N
- Manchuria and Abyssinia were the solutions to japans and Italy’s economic problems
- Armies and navies to weak to intervene in japan
- Didn’t want to ban trade with Italy as it hurt own economies more than it gained in punishing Italy
To conclude
- No one could afford to lose trading partners
- If no depression than the massive conflicts that tore the league apart would never have happened
