The League of Nations and international Peace Flashcards
What were the 2 aims of the LON?
- Maintain Peace
2. To encourage cooperation on social and economic issues
What were the 3 methods the LON could use to maintain peace?
- Disarmament- reducing weapons of countries
- Arbitration- discussion of issues
- Collective Security- act together to control aggressors
Describe the role of the Assembly in the LON
- Met once a year
- Every Country had one Vote
- Decisions made unanimously
Describe the role of the council of the LON
Held the power of Veto
What is meant by the “Covenant” of the LON
A set of moral guidelines countries were obliged to follow
What could the Permanent court of International Justice do upon the breaking of the Covenant of the LON
- Decide which country was in the wrong
- Tell a country so (Moral Condemnation)
- Impose economic sanctions on them
If the PCIJ’s economic sanctions were not sufficient in solving issues, what could they do?
Apply military sanctions on a country
Note- the LON didn’t have an army- but they relied on the idea of “collective security”
What were the 4 reasons that USA decided to not join the LON?
- The senate disagreed with Versailles (and didn’t sign)- the league was seen as an extension of this
- USA was a democracy and didn’t want to help Britain and France keep undemocratic colonies
- Woodrow Wilson’s political opponents wanted to make him unpopular- the league was his idea
- The rise of “isolationism”
Why was USSR not allowed to join the LON?
USSR was communist at the time, and other governments feared this
What were the two main issues with major powers not being involved in the LON?
- The league relied on “collective security”- and they didn’t have access to two of the largest armies in the world
- USA and USSR are not bound by embargoes towards other countries, thus undermining economic sanctions
What are the 4 reasons that the LON was not powerful enough?
- Membership issues
- Britain and France were not strong enough to use military force to maintain peace following the war
- “collective security” didn’t work as countries were not actually willing to give up their armies
- Organisation- the PCIJ had no power to make countries act only advisory), assembly only met once a year slowing decision making, unanimous decisions requirement also slowed down conflict resolution
Describe some social contributions made by the league in the 1920s
- Returned 500000 POWs back home
- International labour organisation persuaded members on minimum wages and other regulation
- The slavery commission freed 200 000 slaves from Burma and Sierra Leone
- The health organisation helped combat spread of malaria, leprosy and plague
Describe the handling of the Upper Silesia dispute 1921
Upper Silesia was a valuable industrial area fought over by Poland and Germany
A referendum was held that was to close to be decisive
The league split up regions between the countries and generally everyone was happy
Describe the handling of the Aaland islands dispute 1921
These are islands in the middle of Finland and Sweden
Citizens were Finnish but wanted to be ruled by Sweden
The LON said Finland should keep its rightful land
Both parties accepted this
Describe the handling of the Bulgaria dispute 1925
Greece entered Bulgaria after border disputes
The league told them to withdraw
They accepted this
Describe the handling of the Corfu dispute in 1923
A Italian diplomat was shot in Greece
Italy responded by occupying Corfu
The LON told them to withdraw
They didn’t accept and instead asked for compensation
The LON changed its mind and agreed
Describe the handling of the Vilna incident
Vilna is the capital of newly formed Lithuania
Its population want to be Polish
Poland capture the region
The league tells them to withdraw
Poland does not agree
Describe the handling of the Ruhr dispute 1923
Germany missed a payment deadline for reparations
France occupied the industrious area, the Ruhr
France began shipping products back to their country, and the LON didn’t intervene
USA resolved this with the Dawes Plan
Describe the use of the Dawes and young plan
Dawes (1924) loaned Germany money and spread out reparations costs- increasing trade and cooperation
Young (1929) reduced reparations by 75% and gave Germany 59 years to pay
Describe the Lorcano Treaties (1925) and their uses
Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann agree to the western borders set by Versailles
He volunteered this to increase levels of trust
Suspiciously, nothing was said of Versailles Eastern borders
This also allowed him to join the LON in 1926
Describe the Kellog-Briand pact (1928) and its uses
Countries agree to not use aggression to resolve conflict
“Aggression” wasn’t defined clearly, so countries could claim they were not guilty though
It did show a commitment to created peace on the other hand
USA signed despite isolationism
Explain the causes of the Great Depression 1929 onwards
Initially wages in America were high, USA lent billions of dollars to help European countries recover from WW1 and people invested in company shares
Companies started to overproduce
In 1929, the stock market crashed and people rushed to sell shares
Prices dropped a lot as people did not want to buy shares
How did the Great Depression affect America?
2000 banks had collapsed
12 mn Americans were unemployed
International loans were recalled
How did the great Depression affect Germany and Britain
2.5 mn britons were unemployed in 3 years
6 mn germans were unemployed due to failing exports in 3 years
