Figure 1.--
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Figure 1.-- |
The League of Nations was the first international organization established oin the basis of collective security to preserve world peace. It was created by the Versailles and other peace treaties ending World War I. The unbrialded nationalism that had inflamed Europe in the early 20th century was widely seen as a major cause of World War I. The horendous losses in the War convinced many Europeans that there must never be another war. A League of Nations as proposed by President Wilson was seen as a way of preventing war in the future through a system of collective security. The Laeague was a culminatioin of other political thinkers who had lated the intelectual background, men like the duc de Sully and Immanuel Kant. There had also been the development of international organizations in the 19th century with more limited objectives. These included the International Telegraphic Union (1865) and the Universal Postal Union (1874). The Red Cross, the Hague Conferences, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (Hague
Tribunal) were all organizations that before World War I were drawing nations together in an expanding web of international relations. President Wilson was unable to convince the American Senate to ratify the Versailles Peace Treaty which included a provision for the League as its leading provision. This weakened the League from the onset as did the exclusion of the new Soviet Union. The victorious Allied nations, Britain and France, during the 1930s refuse to insist on decisive action against Japanese militarists and Italian and German Fascism. Had the Allies acted decisely, World War II with all its horrors could have been prevented. Winston Churchill in political exile at the time came toi call World War II as the unecessary war because decissive action through the League could have prevented the War. [Churchill] President Roosevelt as a vice presidebtial candidate in 1920 had been a strong supporter of U.S. membership in the League. While this never occurred, the President stringly promoted the League's successor, the United Nations, although he died before the U.N charter was signed in 1945.
The League of Nations was the first international organization established oin the basis of collective security to preserve world peace. The League was a culminatioin of other political thinkers who had lated the intelectual background, men like the duc de Sully and Immanuel Kant. There had also been the development of international organizations in the 19th century with more limited objectives. These included the International Telegraphic Union (1865) and the Universal Postal Union (1874). The Red Cross, the Hague Conferences, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (Hague
Tribunal) were all organizations that before World War I were drawing nations together in an expanding web of international relations.
It was created by the Versailles and other peace treaties ending World War I. The unbrialded nationalism that had inflamed Europe in the early 20th century was widely seen as a major cause of World War I. The horendous losses in the War convinced many Europeans that there must never be another war.
A League of Nations as proposed by President Wilson was seen as a way of preventing war in the future through a system of collective security. President Wilson propsed the League January 18, 1918, while World War I was still raging. President Wilson was unable to convince the American Senate to ratify the Versailles Peace Treaty which included a provision for the League as its leading provision.
The first meeting of the Laeague was held on Movember 15, 1920 in Geneva, Switzerland. There were 42 member nations participating. The decission by America not to join weakened the League from the onset as did the exclusion of the new Soviet Union. Germany, Japan, and Italy withdrew from the league when their aggressive policies were question, even though the actions taken by the Laegue were uneffectual. The Soviet Unioin was eventually allowed to join, but was outsted in 1939 after invading Finalnd.
The Convenant or governing constitution of the League consisted of 26 articles. The most important was article X which pledged member countries to, "respect and preserveas against external aggression the teritorial integrity and existing political independence of all members of the League." It was aricle X that the U.S. Senate objected to. League Members also pledged to submit international disputes to arbitration and in all cases to refrain from war until at least 3 months after the announcemet of an award by an arbitrator. The Peramanent Court at the Hague was created to consider international disputes.
NAZI Germany withdrew from the League in 1933, soon after Hitler seized power. The NAZIs viewed the League as a creature of the hated Versailles Treaty. The unpoularity of the treaty among a broad spectrum og Germans was an important issue used by the NAZIs in their rise to power.
The victorious Allied nations, Britain and France, during the 1930s refuse to insist on decisive action against Japanese militarists and Italian and German Fascism. The Japanese seized Manchuria in 1931. Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935. The Japanese and Italians were heavily criticized in League proceedings and mild sanctions passed. The British and French in particular were concerned about driving Mussolini closer to Hitler. The sanctions failed and both Japan and Italy withdrew from the League. The Geram actioins such as remilitarizing the Rhiineland and illegal weapons programs were moredifficuly to deal with. They involved stepps on German soil or activities conducted in secret. By the time NAZI Germany took more overt steps, the Anchluss and the Sudetenland in 1938, they had rearmed and action threatened a major world war. The only real impact of the League sanctions was in fact to drive both Italy and Japan closer to NAZI Germany. Had the Allies acted decisely, World War II with all its horrors could have been prevented. Winston Churchill in political exile at the time came to call World War II as the unecessary war because decissive action through the League could have prevented the War. [Churchill]
Although the League had generally been seen as a failure, there were some successes. The League played a role in preventing some regional wars. It helped restore the finaces of Austria, Hungary, and Greece. The League played a beneficial role in improving international travel and health and attacking the illegal trade in drugs and women as well as limiting child labor.
The League was given responsibility for the former German and Ottomon colonies. Mandates to administer these colonies were awarded to Britain and France. Britain was awarded responsibility among other areas Iraq and Palestine. France received Syria and Lebanon. British colonies which were moving toward independence received some of these awards. Australia received New Guinea. Soiuth Africa received South West Africa (Namibia). Japan received tghe Caroline Islands. Several of these areas were matters of significant international dispute in later years.
President Franklin Roosevelt as a vice presidebtial candidate in 1920 had been a strong supporter of U.S. membership in the League. While this never occurred, the President stringly promoted the League's successor, the United Nations, although he died before the U.N charter was signed in 1945. The last meeting of the Laeague was held on April 8, 1946 when the deleagtes met to formally tarnsfer the records and functions to the new United Nations.
Churchill, Winston, S., "My grandfather invented Iraq," The Wall Street Journal (March 10, 2003), p. A18.
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