The Collapse of The League of Nations Flashcards
How did the Wall Street Crash of 1929 affect other countries and ultimately spread the Great Depression?
In order to recover from WWI, America lent out large loans to countries in Europe.
America then demanded these loans back to help cope with the Great Depression.
This economically damaged a lot of countries and ultimately spread the Great Depression to Europe.
How did the Wall Street Crash affect the League of Nations?
The economic damage caused on European countries made them focus less on the League of Nations and focus more on themselves.
This made the votes for decisions biased because leaders were more focused on helping their own countries first.
How did the Great Depression affect politics in affected countries?
Many countries turned to extremist groups that promised an end to their economic suffering- such as fascist and communist groups.
What did the weakness of the League of Nations allow dictators to do?
Dictators like Hitler and Mussolini were able to rise to power even though they had no intention of working with the League of Nations, rather worked against it.
When did the Manchurian Crisis occur?
In 1931
Where was Manchuria and why did Japan want to invade it?
Manchuria was located in China.
Japan was suffering from the Depression because its main export was silk, and Manchuria was rich in natural resources.
What factors made Japan think it would be easy to invade Manchuria?
- They owned an industry in Manchuria in the form of a railway.
- China’s government was weak and divided.
What happened in the Manchuria Crisis?
The railway in Manchuria that Japan owned was blown up by Japan but it was blamed on China.
With people convinced that China was to blame, they took over Manchuria and celebrated in the streets.
How did the League of Nations react to the Manchuria Crisis?
- The LON reacted very poorly
- They believed that because Japan had an industry in Manchuria they had the right to invade
- Japan was a very powerful member of the LON and didn’t want to risk losing their support or standing up against them
- The other countries had their own personal problems to focus on
What actions did the League of Nations make against the Manchuria Crisis?
- They made very little physical effort because the incident occurred far away from the other main powers.
- The League sent Lord Lytton from Britain to make a judgement on who was really to blame, but by the time the judgement was made that Japan was to blame, Japan had already taken over more areas of China.
Why did the economic sanctions that the LON try to put forward not work against Japan?
Japan was trading with the USA who was a non-member of the League of Nations, so even if they placed harsh sanctions, they could still trade with America.
What effect did the Manchuria Crisis have on the LON?
- It made the LON look weak and unorganised
- It showed aggressive leaders and dictators that they too could get away with whatever they wanted and gave them confidence in overpowering the League.
When did the Invasion of Abyssinia occur?
In 1935.
Who was Mussolini?
Mussolini was the right-wing fascist leader of Italy who wanted to build an empire for his country.
What did Mussolini promise his people?
He promised he would rebuild the Roman Empire and regain the power Italy once had.
