The League Of Nations
The Birth Of The League
President Wilson
World Parliament
Where the representatives of all the nations could meet together regularly to decided to decide any matters that affect them
"There is no other way to do it than by a universal league of nations, and what is proposed is a universal league of nations"
Lloyd George
Simple Organisation
Would just get together in emergencies
Georges Clemenceau
A strong army
All the major nations would join the league
If they had a dispute with another country, they would take it to the league
They promised to accept decision take by the League
People opinion
Some people were angered by Wilson's arrogant style
he acted as if he only knew the solution to Europe's problems
Others were worried by his idealism
Most people in Europe were prepared to give Wilson's plan a try
A body blow to the League
The league was supposed to enforce the Treaty Of Versailles yet, some Americans, particularly the millions who had German ancestors, hated the Treaty itself
Some feared that joining the League meant sending US soldiers to settle every little conflict around the world. No one wanted that after casualties of the First World War
If the league imposed sanctions it might be American trade and business that suffered most!
Some feared that the league would be dominated by France and BRitain and would be called to help defend their empires! Many in the US were anti-empires
The Aims Of The League
Discourage aggression from any nation
Encourage countries to co-operate, especially in business and trade
To encourage nations to disarm
To improve the living and working conditions of people in all parts of the world
Article 10
was the most important of all
was about Collective Security
Membership of the League
Both countries
had been weakened by the IWW
Neither of them had the resources to fill the gap left by the USA
For these leaders, the League posed a real problem
They were the ones
who had to make it work
British Politicians
If they had foreseen the American decision, they would not have voted the League
Felt that the Americans were the only nation with the resources or influence to make the League work
More interesting in rebuilding British trade and looking after the British Empire than in being an international police force
France
Main concern was still Germany
Worried without an army to protect them, the League was too weak to protect France from it's powerful neighbor
It didn't think Britain was likely to send an army to help it
this make France quite prepared to bypass the League if necessary in order to strengthen its position against Germany
Organisation
The council
If there was a problem, the council solved it
Permanent Members
France, Britain, Japan and Italy
could stop the Council acting even if all members agreed
Veto
Temporary Members
elected by the Assambly
for 3 years periods
Moral condemnation
Could decide which one was the aggressor
Could condemn the aggressor action and tell it to stop what it was doing
Economic and financial sanctions
Members of the League could refuse to trade with the aggressor
Military Force
The armed forces of member countries could be used against an aggressor
veto
Each memeber of the council had a Veto
The assembly
League parliament
Could add new members to the league
Could appoint temporary members of the Council
Could vote on the budget of the League
Could put forward by the council
met once a year
Their decisions have to be anonymous
They had to be agreed by all the members of the members of the Assembly
The permanent Court
of international Justice
Play a key role
settling disputes between countries peacefully
Based at the Hague in the Netherlands and was made up of judges from the member countries
If it was asked, the court give a decision
Give legal advice to the Assembly or Council
Had no way of making sure that countries followed its rules
International Labour Organisation
sort of civil service
Had specialists sections covering areas such as health, disarmament and economic matters
League Of Nations Commissions
The Mandates Commissions
The aim was to make sure that Britain and France acting interests of the people or territory (the colonies of Germany and her allies ending up as League of Nations mandates ruled by Britain and France on behalf of the League), no its own interests
The Refugees Committee
At the end of the IWW lot of people was without home so the refugees committee was the committee in charge of search a home for them.
The Slavery Commission
were the ones who search try to abolish the slavery
The Health Committee
attempted to deal with the problem of dangerous diseases and to educate peolple about health and sanitation
The League and border disputes in the 1920s
Corfu, 1923
Between Greece and Albania
On 27 August, while they were surveying the Greek side of the frontier are, Tellini and his team were ambushed and killed. The Italian leader, Mussolini was furious and blamed the Greek government murder
On 26 August he demanded that it pay compensation to Italy and execute murders
The Greeks however, had no idea who the murders were.
On august 31 Mussolini bombarded and then occupied the Greek island Corfu
fifteen people was killed
Greece appealed to the League for help
fortunately, the Council was already in session, so the League acted swiftly
It also suggested that Greece pay compensation but that money be held by the League. This money would then be paid to Italy, and when, Tellini's killer were found
Mussolini would probably have failed if the British and French had stood together
there was much anger in the League over the Council's actions and the League lawyers challenged the legality of the decision. however the rule was never changed
The Geneva Protocol
The Corfu incident demonstrated how the League of nations could be undermined by its own members
The new conservative government refused to sign the Protocol, worried that Britain would be forced to agree to something that was not in its own interests. So the protocol, which had been meant to strengthen the League, in fact weaked it
How did the League of Nations work for a better world ?
refugees
the league did a tremendous work in getting refugees and former prisoners of war back to their homelands
Working Conditions
It also campaigned strongly for employers to improve working conditions 48-hours week, and an eight-hour day, but only a minority of members adopted it because they thought it would raise industrial costs
Health
The heath committee produce important achievements. AS well as collecting statistical information and spreading good practice it sponsored research into infectious diseases with institutes in Singapore, London and Denmark. It started a global campaign to exterminate mosquitoes, which greatly reduced cases of Malaria and yellow fever in later decades
Transport
The league make recomendations on marking shipping lanes and produced an international highway code for road users
Social Problems
The League blacklisted companies which were involved in the illegal drug trade. It brought about the freeing of 20000 slaves in British-owned Sierra Leone. It organised raids against slave owners and traders in Burma
After all, Wilson won
In 1919 he took personal charge of drawing up plans for the League
By February he had drafted a very ambitious plan