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The League of Nations

The League of Nations. How was the League of Nations organised and what were it’s main aims?. The League of Nations was established in 1920 because people wanted to find a safer way to keep the peace. Many nations turned to the idea of- ‘Collective Security ’

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The League of Nations

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  1. The League of Nations How was the League of Nations organised and what were it’s main aims?

  2. The League of Nations was established in 1920 because people wanted to find a safer way to keep the peace. Many nations turned to the idea of- ‘Collective Security’ All nations would defend each other therefore peace would be protected. League of Nations 3.htm The League of Nations

  3. The League of Nations The League of Nations was based on a set of 26 Articles. These tried to encourage countries to co-operate in trade and commit to improving social conditions. They also tried to get nations to disarm.

  4. The Main Aims of the League of Nations. The League of Nations had four main aims – • To keep peace by dealing with disputes among nations. • To safeguard the independence of countries and their frontiers. • To encourage nations to reduce their armaments. • To Improve living and working conditions for all people.

  5. Membership Membership of the League was an issue of great debate. The defeated countries were not allowed to join. This gave the League the appearance of being a club for the victors and caused divisions amongst many nations.

  6. Membership When the League of Nations was created in 1920, there were 42 original member countries. By 1930, membership had risen to nearly 60. Unfortunately, at any one time, several of the biggest and most powerful countries in the world were not members of the league.

  7. The League of Nations The two main countries in the League were Britain and France. There were three notable absences from the League – USA, USSR (Soviet Union), and Germany.

  8. The USA The USA never joined the League despite the fact that Wilson was one of the main architects of it. Many Americans did not want to get involved in European affairs because of the high human cost of WW1. Wilson campaigned to gain support for the league but when the US government voted on membership they went against Wilson.

  9. USSR The USSR did not join the League of nations because they were Communist. The government were very suspicious of western nations. The USSR thought the League was dominated by rich countries who were opposed to Communism. Also in the 1920s the USSR were trying to encourage revolution in other countries –this made them unwelcome in the League. The USSR joined the League 1926.

  10. Germany Germany was refused entry to the League. They had been forced to accept the treaty of Versailles and there was great bitterness against Germany. Germany finally joined the League in 1926.

  11. How was the League organised? The League was made up of six different bodies. • The Assembly • The Council • The Court of International Justice • The International Labour Organisation • The League of Nations Commissions • The Secretariat.

  12. The Assembly The Assembly was the debating chamber of the League. And was located in Geneva, Switzerland. Geneva Building..htm Each member country had a single vote in the Assembly. Decisions had to be unanimous and it could only recommend action to the council – it could not carry anything out.

  13. The Council The League council met at least three times a year, more in times of emergency. The council had five permanent members. Britain, France, Italy, Japan and (from 1926) Germany. The permanent members could stop any action proposed by the council.

  14. The Court of International Justice. This court was based at the Hague in the Netherlands. It was made up of judges who represented the different legal systems of the member countries. The courts role was to – • Give decisions on disputes between countries. • Give legal advice to the Assembly.

  15. International Labour Organisation (ILO) The aim of the ILO was to improve the conditions of working people throughout the world. It was made up of employers, governments and workers representatives who met once a year. The ILOs main focus were wage rates, hours of work, health and safety at work, unemployment and the employment of women and children.

  16. The League of Nations Commissions These commissions looked into a wide range of issues for example – • The World Health Organisation (WHO). • The Refugee Organisation. • The Slavery Commission.

  17. The Secretariat This was a sort of civil service which carried out the work of the League. It kept records of the Leagues activities and prepared reports. It was divided into sections for example health, armaments and economic matters.

  18. The powers of the League The League could settle disputes in these three ways- • A hearing by an impartial neutral country. • A ruling by the International Court of Justice. • An inquiry by the Council.

  19. The powers of the League If these did not work the League could- • Put pressure of the guilty country brining world opinion against it. • League members could refuse to trade with the guilty country. • Armed forces of member countries could be joined together and used against the guilty country.

  20. Strengths of the league • When the league was established there was almost total goodwill towards it from ordinary people and most governments. • People genuinely wanted to avoid conflict. • Most of the major countries had joined. • Better communication made the operation of the league easier.

  21. Weaknesses of the League • The USA would not join even though they had been one of the main advocates for its establishment. • The league did not have its own army so relied on the support of the member nations. • Disarmament was never going to happen. • There was still a lot of hatred after WW1.

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