The League of Nations Flashcards
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4A, 4.4B
1
Q
what was the League of Nations?
A
- a vision for bringing the world together in peace
- a group of countries that would work together & solve problems, like a world parliament
2
Q
why was the LoN formed?
A
- to stop war from breaking out again
- to encourage disarmament
- to improve working conditions
- to tackle deadly diseases
3
Q
was the USA an important part of the LoN?
A
- the Senate refused to agree to it
- the American people had seen too many young Americans die in WWI- they wanted to devastate themselves from Europe
4
Q
where was the League based?
A
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Switzerland was not involved in the war so it seemed peaceful
- the Red Cross was also based there
5
Q
who joined the League of Nations?
A
- when it was founded- 42 members
- rose to 58 by 1934
- 4 permanent members of the council who made all the big decisions- Britain, France, Italy & Japan
6
Q
what did Britain think of the League?
A
- at Paris Peace Conference- he was critical of the idea
- after he issued the Fontainebleau Memorandum he said he completely supported the League
- gave Britain more colonies to add to their empire
7
Q
what did Britain typically regard to the League as?
A
a place for countries to discuss ideas but without any real power
8
Q
what did France think of the LoN?
A
France was just happy it might protect their country from another German invasion
9
Q
what was a Fontainebleau Memorandum?
A
- a document written by Lloyd George and his advisors during the Paris Peace Conference
- it said that Britain wanted a peace but not one that would lead to more wars in the future
10
Q
how did the League plan to keep peace?
A
the League would work together through collective security- if all countries worked together, they could make sure that peace was kept and the interests of every nation was looked after
11
Q
what did the League set up in 1920?
A
the Permanent Court of International Justice
12
Q
what was the Permanent Court of International Justice?
A
an international court that would establish international laws
13
Q
why was the Permanent Court of International Justice set up?
A
if every country was following the same laws, there would be less chance of them disagreeing
14
Q
what happened if the League could not prevent disputes?
A
1) mitigation- getting countries together to talk through problems
2) moral condemnation- a telling off
3) economic sanctions- members of the League would not trade with the warring countries
15
Q
why did the League not have its own army?
A
because it was a peaceful organisation
16
Q
what happened if an army was absolutely necessary?
A
the League would ask its members to lend it their armed forces
17
Q
how did the League of Nations run?
A
like an international parliament
18
Q
when did every member send representatives to the assembly?
A
once a year on the first Monday of September to discuss and vote on manners
19
Q
what happened if the decision wasn’t unanimous?
A
the motion could not be passed and would have to be referred to the council
20
Q
what was the assembly in charge of?
A
- deciding when a new country could join
- the election of judges to the Permanent Court of International Justice
- voting for the non-permanent members of the Council
-deciding how the League’s money was spent
21
Q
where was the League’s first meeting held?
A
a Swiss hotel
22
Q
why was Russia not allowed to join initially?
A
because its new Communist government was not recognised yet
23
Q
when did Russia join the LoN?
A
1934
24
Q
how many members were in the Council?
A
4 permanent members- Britain, France, Italy and Japan
25
how long did the 4 countries sit on the Council for?
a 3 year term
26
the Council was later increased to how many members?
9 non- permanent members
27
what did the Council have the power of?
veto- it could stop a ruling with its vote
28
when a country had an issue what would it do?
- would bring the issue to the court
- 11 judges & 4 deputy judges would listen to both sides before reaching a verdict
- the court could then advise the parties involved in the argument
- however, this was just advice- the League had no army- it was difficult to make the countries agree unless they wanted to
29
who was the Court elected by?
the Assembly and the Council
30
the judges of the Court would fill the role for how many years?
11 years
31
what was the Secretariat?
- the civil service of the League
- it was in charge of administration and organising any action that the League wanted to take
- was a body of experts from different areas, such as finance, who were responsible for carrying out any decisions taken by the League, with the exception of military issues
32
what were special commissions?
- special groups put together to tackle issues that the League was worried about
33
what were some groups formed by the League?
- the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
- the Disarmament Commission
- the Health Organisation
- the Slavery Commission
- the Commission for Refugees
- the Permanent Central Opium Board
34
what were some 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
35
what were the weaknesses of the League?
- many important countries were not in the League- e.g. the USA- this undermined the League as a global organisation & meant that if a country faced economic sanctions, it could still trade with some of the
richest and powerful countries
- the League had no army- it could not force members to obey it
- the structure was very complicated- confused people and slowed action
- decisions had to be unanimous- decision-making was very slow
36
what was the aims of the International Labour Organisation?
to bring workers, employees and governments together to improve the conditions that people worked in
37
what were the successes of the ILO?
- 1928- 77 countries agreed to set a minimum wage
- in Africa, slave labour was used to build a railway- 50% of workers died- the League reduced it down to 4%
38
what were the failures of the ILO?
- 1919- tried to stop children under the age of 14 from working- not adopted by many members because they thought it would cost too much money
39
what were the aims for the Commission for Refugees?
to return prisoners of war home and support refugees by improving camp conditions, finding new homes, or returning them to their own countries once the threat of conflict had passed
40
what were the successes of the Commissions for Refugees?
- 1921- the League helped free about 427,000 out of 500,000 prisoners of war still imprisoned from WWI and returned them to their homelands
- created the Nansen Passport- a document that could be used as identification by refugees
41
what were the Failures of the Commissions for Refugees?
- 1933- the League tried to appoint a High Commissioner for refugees who were mainly Jewish, fleeing from Germany
- Germany rejected the proposal- a unanimous vote was not reached and the motion was defeated
- the commissioner was appointed but as an independent body separate from the League- meaning they had less power
42
what were the successes of the Slavery Commission?
- organised raids on the camps of slave traders in Sierra Leone- setting 200,000 people free
- in 1921, Sierra Leone abolished slavery
43
what were the successes of the Economic & Financial Committee?
- Austria & Hungary were trying to rebuild their economies- the League sent financial experts so that the countries would not go bankrupt
44
what was the aims of the Organisation for Communications and Transport?
regulated transport developed during the war in order to keep people safe
44
what were the successes of the Organisation for Communications and Transport?
- introduced shipping lanes- fewer collisions occurred
- produced an international highway code- car drivers followed the same traffic rules wherever they travelled
44
what were the failures of the Economic and Financial Committee?
when global depression hit in 1929- the commission was unable to cope
45
what were the successes of the Health Committee?
- international campaign to kill mosquitos
- sent doctors to look after refugees in Turkey & helped improve living conditions in refugee camps in the 1920's
- renamed as World Health Organisation- still exists today
46
what were the aims of the Permanent Central Opium Board?
- to stop the cultivation and distribution of opium
- after 1925, the Board became the Permanent Central Narcotics Board and tackled other drugs as well
47
what were the successes of the Permanent Central Opium Board?
- introduced a system- countries had to have a certificate that stated they were allowed to import opium for medicinal purposes
- blacklisted 4 large companies that were involved in trading illegal drugs
48
what were the failures of the Permanent Central Opium Board?
some historians claim that key members of the League were not really dedicated to stopping the sale of opium as they made large amounts of money from it
49
what happened in 1920 in Vilna?
- Poland & Lithuania were created
- Vilna was the capital of Lithuania but the majority of people living there wanted to be Polish
- a Polish army took control of the city- Lithuania asked for help
- the League told Poland to remove its army but it was refused
- France saw Poland as a potential ally against Germany so they did not help
- Britain would not send troops without the help of the other countries
- the League did nothing- Poland took Vilna
50
what happened from 1921-1925 in Upper Silesia?
- on the border of Germany & Poland
- both countries wanted to claim the area
- the League split Upper Silesia into regions according to how people had voted
- Germany- rural areas Poland- industrial areas
50
what happened in 1921 in the Aland Islands?
- Sweden & Finland claimed the Aland islands
- the League decided the islands should go to Finland
- Finland was not allowed to build forts on the islands- could not be used as a base to attack Sweden
51
what happened in 1923 in Corfu?
- the boundaries of Greece & Albania still had to be agreed on- Tellini took the job but him and his team were killed
- Mussolini blamed the Greek government- demanded the murderers should be killed & the government should pay compensation
- 31st August Mussolini invaded Corfu- killing 15 people
- the League believed Greece should pay the compensation
- Greece was then forced to apologise and pay the compensation directly to Italy due to Mussolini complaining to the Conference of Ambassadors
52
what happened in 1925 in Bulgaria?
- Greek soldiers killed on the Bulgarian border- Greece invaded
- Bulgaria asked the League for help
- League condemned Greece & told them to withdraw troops
- Greece thought the League was being hypocritical- (Corfu 1923)
- Greece was a small country & unwilling to risk relations with powerful members of the League so they obeyed
53
what happened in 1929: Wall Street Crash?
- 1929- American economy crashed
- America traded with countries across the world & had lent a lot of money during & after the war- global economies were also affected
- the League was powerless to do anything to help people or to control these new party leaders who were willing to resort to violence to get their own way
