By Tosh, Mike, and Mitchell

Origins The concept of a “league of nations” had been proposed many times over the hundred years preceding the Great War, but between 1914 and 1918 many prominent politicians and generals began strongly advocating the idea of an international body to enforce peace. During the Paris Peace Conference the Covenant of the League of Nations was drafted. The document was drafted by delegations from many countries although it was greatly influenced by rough drafts by Jan Smuts (UK) and President Woodrow Wilson (USA). Woodrow Wilson president of the U.S.A Lord Bryce an early advocate

Issues Drafting the Covenant Most nations were in agreement in the concept of the League of Nations although two major issues arose. France wanted to form an army that all members contributed to but Britain was opposed and the US constitution made it impossible. Later on this would prove to be the one of the downfalls of the League of Nations. Japan requested that a charter be added supporting racial equality, but the United States were very firmly opposed. A vote was held and the measure passed, but Woodrow Wilson said the clause was too opposed and forced it to be removed. Jan Smuts, key drafter of the Covenant of the League of Nations, and later Prime Minister of South Africa

About the League of Nations The Permanent Secretariat dealt with matters involving minorities(self determination), economics, mandates(like the mandate of Iraq), League occupied territories, and many more lesser issues. The League of Nations consisted of many different wings and semi independent organisations. The Assembly and Council could deal with any matter related to world peace

About the League of Nations pg.2 Several other important bodies were the Health Organisation, the Permanent Court of International Justice, and the International Labour Organisation. These were later incorporated into the new UN The League of Nations was headquartered at the Palace of Nations Permanent Court of Justice Labour Organisation Logo

Founding of the League On June 28th, 1919, the League of Nations was formed. Japan, Britain, France, and Italy were given permanent seats on the council and the remaining four seats were elected from the other 38 founding members. Despite Woodrow Wilson being the leading force behind the creation of the League of Nations, Congress refused to join the new organization.

Early Successes The League adopted a mandate system which awarded the former territories of the Ottoman and German empires to major powers to administer and protect. Although controversial, the use of consultations to determine the opinion of locals was reasonably effective. The Aland Islands dispute was successfully resolved when Sweden accepted the decision to leave the islands with Finland but demilitarized.

Key Issues The new League was heavily influenced by the victors of WW1 meaning the losers saw the league as a way to preserve the upper hand gained by Britain and France. Many countries were disallowed including major powers like Germany and the Soviet Union. France and Britain also were very reluctant to even impose sanctions when the League asked, further weakening the standing of the organization.

Inability to Resolves Crises With the creation of new nations that had never before existed or had not since the middle ages, many border abnormalities had to be solved. The League of Nations failed in many of these cases and allowed armies to claim land. Poland took 80,000 Km from Russia by force, and Benito Mussolini bombarded Greece to pay a fine and Yugoslavia cowered under the threat of bombardment and gave over a key port. These cases of inactivity by the League lead to people believing breaking league law was fine... Because France and Britain had to enforce the decisions of the League and had conflicting interests, most nations knew the league was divided and weak

The Downfall of the League of Nations By the beginnings of the 1930’s, the major powers were starting to form alliances. 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria. China was incapable of stopping Japan and called on the League to stop them. The League of Nations demanded Japan leave Manchuria, but Japan decided that there was no longer any point of staying in the League and withdrew from it. Nazi Germany also withdrew with their ally and the League of Nations could no longer influence the nations threatening peace as they did not accept the League’s authority. In 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia and once again the nothing was done by the organisation designed to maintain peace. Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia gave an accurate prediction to the League of Nations in his plea for assistance. The Emperor said, “it is us today, it will be you tomorrow”.

Germany Militarizes Leading up to WW2, Germany began building up an army and quit reparation payments as required in the Treaty of Versailles. The League of Nations sat helpless and useless as Europe descended into another world war.

Dissolution In 1943 at the Tehran Conference, it was decided that after the war the United Nations would be created. Ultimately the League was not taken serious by most nations and therefore a new organisation had to be created. Many of its successful wings not related to peace were transferred to the new United Nations. Once again, the victors of the recent war were given permanent seats on the new security council. The final League of Nations meeting was on April 12th, 1946. Reserve funds were returned to the countries that provided it, and the rest of the League property was given to the successor United Nations.