The League of Nations and international peace Flashcards
1
Q
Why was the League formed?
A
-prevent future wars
-encourage disarmament
-improve working conditions
2
Q
How many members were in the League when it was initially founded?
A
42 members
3
Q
How many members were in the League by 1934?
A
58 members
4
Q
Why didn’t USA join the League initially?
A
Senate refused to it
5
Q
Where was the League based?
A
Geneva, Switzerland
6
Q
Apart from the USA, what other nations was not allowed to join?
A
-Russia
-Germany (and other losing nations)
7
Q
What Treaty allowed Germany to join the League?
A
Locarno Treaty, 1926
8
Q
What did Lloyd George issue to show his approval of the League?
A
Fontainebleau Memorandum
9
Q
How did the League attempt to keep peace?
A
through collective security
10
Q
What international court was set up in 1920?
A
Permanent Court of International Justice
11
Q
How did the League set out to deal with aggression?
A
the Covenant
12
Q
What were the 3 steps of the Covenant?
A
- mitigation
- moral condemnation
- economic sanctions
13
Q
Did the League have an army?
A
NO - peaceful organsisation
14
Q
How often did the League’s assembly meet?
A
once a year - in September
15
Q
To pass votes in the Assembly, votes had to be…
A
unanimous
16
Q
How many nations were represented at the Assembly’s first meeting?
A
42 nations
17
Q
What year did Russia join the League?
A
1934
18
Q
What government ran Russia?
A
communist government
19
Q
How many permanent members were in the Council?
A
4 permanent members
20
Q
Who were the 4 permanent members of the Council?
A
-Britain
-France
-Italy
-Japan
21
Q
How many non-permanent member of the Council were there?
A
9 non-permanent members
22
Q
The Council has the power of…
A
VETO
23
Q
What does veto mean?
A
the right to reject a proposal
24
Q
Why was the Permanent Court of International Justice set up?
A
to settle international arguments
25
Why was the Court of Justice ineffective?
only gave advice - couldn't enforce it as the League had no army
26
What was the Secretariat?
civil service of the League
27
What was the Secretariat in charge of?
organising League actions and administration to the League
28
Give 3 examples of Special commission groups
-the International Labour Organisation
-the Slavery Commission
-the Commission for Refugees
29
Why was it a weakness of the League that the USA didn't join?
undermined League - economic sanctions were insignificant, as countries could still trade with powerful nations
30
Why was having no army a weakness of the League?
could not force people to obey to sanctions and terms
31
The Assembly being unanimous was a weakness because...
it made decision making slow
32
What event, involving the League, happened in 1920?
Vilna
33
What was the issue of Vilna 1920?
Polish army took control of Vilna (in Lithuania)
34
Was Vilna 1920 a success of failure for the League?
FAILURE
-asked Polish army to move but they refused
-France refused to help (as saw Poland as a potential ally against Germany)
-Britain wouldn't send any troops without other countries' support
35
What event, involving the League, happened in 1921-25?
Upper Silesia
36
Why did both Germany and Poland want to claim Upper Silesia?
iron and steel production
37
How did the League initially deal with Upper Silesia?
organised a plebiscite - sent police to voting stations to ensure the cotes were fair and calm
38
What were the results of the Upper Silesia plebiscite?
-Germany won 60% of votes
-decided to split Upper Silesia into regions for both Poland and Germany to claim
39
How many Poles ended up in German territory after Upper Silesia?
half a million (500,000)
40
Why were Germany dissatisfied with the outcome of Upper Silesia?
-lost 3 quarters of coal mine they previously owned
-complained in 1922 to League
41
Was Upper Silesia 1921-25 a success of failure for the League?
FAILURE
-temporarily solved issue
-gave in to Germany's complaints, causing further issue with Germany and Poland
42
What event, involving the League, happened in 1921?
The Aaland Islands
43
What was the dispute of the Aaland Islands?
Sweden and Finland both claimed the Aaland Islands - threatening war
44
How did the League deal with the Aaland Islands dispute?
-gave the islands to Finland
-Finland could not build forts on the islands
45
Was the Aaland Islands a success or failure for the League?
SUCCESS
-Sweden agreed to terms
-successfully avoided war
46
What event, involving the League, happened in 1923?
Corfu
47
What was the Corfu conflict?
-deciding on boundary between Greece and Albania
-Tellini (suveryor) was murdered
-Mussolini was outraged and blamed Greek government
48
When did Mussolini invade Corfu?
31st August 1923
49
How many people did Mussolini kill when he invaded Corfu?
15 people
50
How did the League initially act against Mussolini's invasion of Corfu?
condemned him but agreed Greece should pay compensation
51
Was Corfu 1923 a success or failure for the League?
FAILURE
-Britain and France willingly undermined the League at the threat of a powerful nation (Italy)
-proved that the League could be ignored or overturned easily
52
What event, involving the League, happened in 1925?
Bulgaria
53
What country invaded Bulgaria in 1925?
Greece
54
Was Bulgaria 1925 a success or failure for the League?
SUCCESS
-despite actions against Greece being hypocritical (Corfu 1923), Greece couldn't go against the League as they were a small nation
55
What event, involving the League, happened in 1929?
The Wall Street Crash
56
What was The Wall Street Crash?
crash of American economy - GREAT DEPRESSION
57
What were the international impacts of The Wall Street Crash?
whole world faced economic depression - America traded with many countries
58
The Wall Street Crash made the League...
powerless - couldn't control fascist leaders and extreme leaders from committing violent actions
59
Why did France invade Germany in 1923?
as Germany failed to make a reparation payment
60
Who was German's foreign minister that organised the Locarno treaties 1925?
Gustav Stresemann
61
How many Locarno treaties were there?
7 treaties
62
What countries signed the Locarno treaties?
-Britain
-Belgium
-Italy
-Czechoslovakia
63
What year was Germany allowed to join the League of Nations?
1926
64
What did the Locarno treaties state?
-Germany's acceptance of Treaty of Versailles terms
-countries agreeing not to go to war
65
What year was the Kellogg-Briand pact?
1928
66
Where was the Kellogg-Briand pact signed?
Paris
67
How many countries signed the Kellogg-Briand pact?
65 countries
68
Who were the first 3 countries to sign the Kellogg-Briand pact?
-Germany
-France
-USA
69
How many Americans were unemployed in 1933?
15 million
70
Why was there a rise of extremist leaders (e.g. Hitler)?
1. offered simple solutions - e.g. 'Freedom, bread, work'
2. promised victories of war (prosperity)
3. found victims to blame for failure - e.g. Hitler said that Germany's problems were caused by T of V and Jews
71
How did the Great Depression impact the League of Nations?
-powerful dictators didn't abide collective security and weren't fearful of moral condemnation
-economic sanctions were not enforceable
72
What year did Manchuria happen?
1931-33
73
What were the 3 causes of Manchuria?
1. The Great Depression
2. Japan's location
3. Mukden Incident
74
How much had employment decreased by in 1932?
30%
75
What date was the Mukden incident?
18th September 1931
76
What was the Mukden incident?
explosion on South Manchurian railway - Japanese soldiers blamed Chinese soldiers
77
What was the Japanese army called that invaded Manchuria?
Kwantung army
78
What did Japan rename Manchuria in 1932?
Manchuko
79
Who became the puppet ruler of Manchuko?
Pu Yi
80
How did the League respond to Manchuria?
-sent commission of enquiry (Lytton Committee)
-condemned Japan (moral condemnation)
-Lytton report took a whole year
81
After being morally condemned, Japan withdrew...
from the League
82
What does Japan leaving the League prove?
self-interest of permanent members - not committed to best interest of League and world peace
83
What were the 3 causes of Abyssinia?
1. Great Depression
2. Scramble for Africa
3. Mussolini
84
Why did Mussolini want to invade Abyssinia?
Abyssinia was full of natural resources - for Italy to rebuild their empire
85
Why was Mussolini so aggressive/ confident in invading Abyssinia?
1. League backed down previously to him - Corfu 1923
2. Stresa Front - alliance with France and Britain
86
Where did the Italian troops first clash with Abyssinians?
Wal Wal (1934)
87
What was the name of the French Foreign Minister that made a secret agreement with Italy?
Pierre Laval - agreeing that France would not interfere (Jan 1935)
88
What date did Italian troops enter Abyssinia?
October 1935
89
How did the League respond to Italian troops invasion?
-condemned Italy
-Italy ignored and left League
90
What was the Hoare-Laval pact (Dec 1935)?
-British and French foreign ministers secret deal
-agreed to hand over 2 thirds of Abyssinia to Italy
-cause public outcry, so idea was dropped
91
The League did not close the...
Suez Canal during Abyssinia crisis
92
What were the League's failed trade sanctions against Italy?
failed to ban steel, oil and coal
93
What were the consequences of the Abyssinia crisis for the League?
-showed weakness
-lost strong nation (Germany and Italy formed an alliance, Rome-Berlin pact)
-increased Hitler's confidence to act
94
What was the aim of the International Labour Organisation?
improves working conditions
95
International Labour Organisation: success
death rates on Tanganyika railway reduced from over 50% to 4%
96
International Labour Organisation: failure
refused to stop children under the age of 14 from working (as too expensive)
97
What was the aim of the Commission for Refugees?
help those who had lost their homes at war - improving refugee camps or helping them return to home/ new homes
98
Commission for Refugees: success
freed 457,000 prisoners of war
99
Commission for Refugees: failure
failed to help Jews flee Germany in 1930's
100
What was the aim of the Slavery Commission?
to end slavery
101
Slavery Commission: success
freed 200,000 slaves from Sierra Leonne in 1920s
102
What was the aim of the Economic and Financial Committee?
improve living conditions
103
Economic and Financial Committee: success
sent financial advisors to Austria and Hungary - help rebuild economies
104
Economic and Financial Committee: failure
unable to cope with global depression after 1929
105
What was the aim of the Organisation for Communications and Transport?
improve how countries worked together
106
Organisation for Communications and Transport: success
-introduced shipping lanes
-international highway code
107
What was the aim of the Health Organisation?
to cure diseases
108
Health Organisation: success
sent doctors to help in Turkish refugee camps
109
What was the aim of the Permanent Central Opium Board?
tackle the trading of illegal drugs
110
Permanent Central Opium Board: success
blacklisted 4 large companies trading illegal drugs
111
Permanent Central Opium Board: failure
some countries did not want to stop trade of opium - made so much money from it
112
What are the 7 League agencies? (cholers)
C: Organisation for Communication and Transport
H: Health Organisation
O: Permanent Central Opium Board
L: International Labour Organisation
E: Economic and Financial Committee
R: Commission for Refugees
S: Slavery Commission
