IGCSE History - League of Nations

IGCSE HISTORY

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS Revision Notes

CONTENT OUTLINE § § § § § § § § §

Birth of the League of Nations The United States, Isolationism and the League of Nations Work of the League The League in the 1920s Working for a Better World The League and Economic Depression The League and the Invasion of Manchuria, 1931 The League and the Invasion of Abyssinia, 1935 The Failure of Disarmament

IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

   

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    Birth of the League of Nations After the First World War, everyone wanted to avoid the repeat of such a destructive and horrifying conflict. At the Treaty of Versailles, it was agreed that a League of Nations, an organisation to resolve international problems without resorting to armed conflict, would be set up to achieve this. However, there were disagreements as to the nature and the work of this proposed League of Nations. •

US President Woodrow Wilson wanted the League of Nations to be like a world parliament where representatives of all nations could come together regularly to discuss and decide on matters that affected them all.

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Many British leaders felt it would be best if the League of Nations was an organisation that only meet and take action in emergencies.

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The French, having borne the brunt of the First World War’s destruction, wanted a strong League with its own standing army to intervene in conflicts.

President Wilson’s vision of a League prevailed. He insisted that discussions about the League to be part of the peace treaties, and in 1919, he personally took charge of drawing up plans for the League. In February 1919, he had proposed an ambitious plan. • • • •

All major nations would join the League. All nations would disarm All disputes between countries would be taken and resolved by the League, and its decisions were to be accepted and respected. A Covenant was to be set up, and should any nation break the covenant and go to war, other nations were to cease economic relations with it and send troops to intervene if necessary.

There were several concerns raised about Wilson’s plan. Some were worried about his idealistic approach towards international relations. These detractors felt that nations would not act in the way he suggested in the event of war, or that the League’s decisions would not be accepted by nations in the event of conflict. However, many people in Europe were willing to give Wilson’s plan a try. They hoped that the threat of economic sanctions and military intervention imposed by major powers in the name of the League was a strong deterrent for countries to go to war. By 1919, there was hope that the League of Nations would be a powerful peacemaker, with the United States in the driving seat.

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    The United States, Isolationism and the League of Nations Ultimately, the United States was among the few major powers in the world that did not join the League. While US President Woodrow Wilson might have been the key player in crafting and shaping the League, he was unable to see the United States join the League because of the lack of support for the idea and the country’s political battle that played out regarding the League. Opposition to the League in the United States The idea of a League of Nations was fundamentally unpopular in the United States. There were several reasons why this was so. •

Opposition to the Treaty of Versailles: The League of Nations was linked to the Treaty of Versailles, as it was the very document that created the organisation in the first place. President Wilson was insistent that signatories to the Treaty should join the League. The League was supposed to enforce the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. There were many German immigrants in the United States who were opposed to American involvement in the First World War against Germany, and these immigrants definitely did not want the United States to play any role in enforcing the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which they deemed unfair.

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Horrors of War: To many Americans, joining the League of Nations would mean having the United States send its troops to every little conflict around the world. 100,000 American soldiers had died in the First World War. Many Americans were appalled at the carnage of the First World War, and did not want to see a repeat of such a great loss of American lives again, and thus wanted to the United States to stay out of such disputes by not joining the League of Nations.

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Opposition to Colonialism: Many Americans were opposed to colonialism and imperialism. The United States was born out of freedom from the British Empire, a colonial power. The Treaty of Versailles did not abolish the overseas empires of Britain and France, and instead it had granted them mandates to rule over. For many Americans, the League of Nations was seen as an organisation to prop colonialism. Thus, many Americans felt that it would be principally unjustified to support the League of Nations.

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Economic Cost: Others were worried about the economic cost of joining the League of Nations.

 

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To many, it seemed as though the United States would be signing a blank cheque. They were unwilling to see the United States to solve all international problems regardless of the cost, at the expense of the American taxpayer.

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Business leaders were especially concerned about the League of Nations. They were afraid that their businesses would incur losses should the League of Nations decide to impose trade sanctions, which the United States would be obliged to follow if it were a member. These trade sanctions would result in a total standstill in bilateral trade, harming businesses.

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    Together, people against the League of Nations for various reasons above formed a powerful opposition to the United States joining the organisation. They were soon joined by many of President Wilson’s political opponents. The Political Battle Congressional approval was required for the United States to join the League of Nations. President Wilson was a member of the Democratic Party, and he had run the United States for eight troubled years. The Republicans, the opponents of the Democrats, saw this controversy as an ideal opportunity to defeat Wilson and the Democrats. This played out in the political battle to join the League in 1919-1920. •

President Wilson conducted a nation-wide tour to drum up support for joining the League by convincing the masses that this was a good idea. However, Wilson often fell ill on the campaign trail, and his proposal was defeated in Congress in 1919. Wilson became seriously ill after a stroke in 1920. However, he continued to campaign in favour of joining the League, and took the proposal back to Congress in March 1920. It was defeated once again.

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In the 1920 Presidential Election, Wilson was too ill to consider a re-election bid. However, the Democrats did not give up in campaigning for joining the League. They were convinced that if the United States did not involve itself in international affairs, another global conflict might follow.

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Wilson’s successor as Democratic candidate, James Cox, made joining the League of Nations a major part of his election campaign. The Republic candidate, Warren Harding, campaigned on an isolationist platform, on the slogan ‘Return to Normalcy’, referring to life as it was before the war, with the United States isolating itself from European affairs. The Republicans won in a landslide victory.

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    The Work of the League of Nations Aims of the League of Nations The League of Nations was established based on a Covenant, a set of 26 articles, which all members of the League agreed to follow. The Covenant essentially set out the aims of the League of Nations. • • • •

To discourage aggression from any nation To encourage economic cooperation among countries To encourage disbarment To improve the living and working conditions of people in all parts of the world

Membership of the League of Nations The absence of the United States meant that Britain, France and Japan were the most powerful countries in the League. Throughout the 1920s and the 1930s, it was Britain and France who usually guided policy and decision-making in the League. Any action taken by the League would require their support. •

However, both countries were poorly placed to take on this role. Both had been weakened by the First World War. Neither country had the resources to fill the gap left by the United States. Many felt that the United States was the only nation with the resources or influence to make the League work.

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Both countries had other priorities as well, especially after the destruction the First World War had caused their countries’ economies. o

The British were much more interested in restoring Britain’s economic health by rebuilding British trade, as well as looking after the vast British Empire rather than becoming an international police force.

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The French were still concerned about Germany. They were worried that without an army of its own, the League would be too weak to protect France from its powerful neighbour. It did not think Britain would be willing to send an army to help it. This made France prepared to bypass the League if necessary to strengthen its position against Germany.

Structure of the League of Nations The Covenant laid out the League’s structure and the rules for each of the bodies within it. The Secretariat The main duty of the Secretariat was to keep records of League meetings and prepare reports for different agencies of the League The Secretariat had specialist sections covering areas such health, disbarment and economic matters.

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    The Council The Council was a small group that met often, about five times a year and in case of emergencies. It was made up of permanent and temporary members. •

Permanent Members included Italy, Japan, Britain and France. As permanent members, these nations were entitled to a veto. This allowed the permanent member to stop the Council from acting even if all other members agreed.

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Temporary Members were elected by the Assembly for three-year periods. The number of temporary members varied between four and nine at different times in the League’s history.

The idea behind the Council was that it could settle disputes between countries before things got out of hand. If things did get out of hand, the Council could use a range of powers. •

Moral Condemnation: The Council could decide which country was ‘the aggressor’ in a conflict, and which country was to blame for the trouble. They had the power to condemn the aggressor and tell it to stop what it was doing.

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Economic and Financial Sanctions: The Council could order members of the League to refuse trade with the aggressor, thus inflicting harm on its economy and pressuring the nation to cease its aggressive actions.

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Military Force: The armed forces of member countries could be used against an aggressor.

The Assembly The Assembly served as the League’s parliament. Every nation that was part of the League sent a representative to the Assembly, which met once a year. The Assembly could recommend action to the Council and vote on • • • •

admitting new members to the League appointing temporary members of the Council the Budget of the League other ideas put forward by the Council

Decisions by the Assembly had to be made unanimously, meaning that every member of the Assembly had to agree to the action proposed. The Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice was meant to be a key part of the League’s job of settling disputes between countries peacefully. The Court was based at The Hague in the Netherlands, and was made up of judges from member countries. If asked, the Court had the right to give a decision on a border dispute between two countries, and could give legal advice to the Assembly or to the Council. While conventional courts in individual member countries could enforce its rulings through law enforcement agencies and through the

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    government, the international nature of the Court meant that it had no way of making sure that the countries followed its rulings. The International Labour Organisation The International Labour Organisation (ILO) brought together employers, governments and workers’ representatives once a year. It aimed to improve the conditions of working people throughout the world, collecting statistics and information about working conditions and persuading member countries to adopt its suggestions. The League of Nations Commissions The League of Nations attempted to tackle major issues facing the world in the 1920s and the 1930s. It set up commissions and committees to address these issues, mostly unrelated to disputes or global security. •

The Mandates Commission: The First World War had led to many former German colonies and her allies ending up under the administration of Britain and France in the name of the League. The Mandates Commission ensured that Britain and France acted in the interest of the League and not self-interests in running these mandates.

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The Refugees Committee: This Committee helped return refugees to their original homes after the end of the First World War, which had displaced millions across Europe.

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The Slavery Commission: This Committee worked to abolish slavery around the world.

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The Health Committee: This Committee attempted to deal with the problem of dangerous diseases, as well as to educate the general public about health and sanitation.

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    Weaknesses of the Organisation and Structure of the League The League of Nations had a few fundamental weaknesses in its structure and organisation that would hamper its work in time to come. •

Absence of the United States: The United States did not join the League due to isolationist sentiments across the country. The absence of the United States meant that the League was less able to stand up to powerful aggressors. The great military, financial and political backing the United States could have provided to the League was lost.

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Exclusion of Germany and Russia: Germany and its defeated allies were originally excluded from the League. Germany, a large European power, was only allowed to join the League in 1926, but this original exclusion was a cause of resentment by German nationalists. This exclusion from international politics made it difficult for Germany to negotiate with other powers later in the 1930s. Russia, though not a defeated nation, was not invited either. In 1919, Russia had just become a communist state, and the capitalist West felt that Russia was not trustworthy enough to join the League, until 1934.

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Domination by Britain and France: Without the United States, Russia or Germany in the League, Britain and France were the only major European powers. This made the League an instrument of British and French foreign policy, especially designed for their benefit. As the two greatest powers in the League, Britain and France would have to take the lead on action, including military action, if the League were to be successful. However, neither power was prepared to do so as they did not want to provoke another major war.

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Lack of a Standing Army: The League of Nations did not have a standing army to respond quickly to international conflict. The only thing it could do in cases of military intervention would be to raise an army from different countries. Members were allowed to decide if it wanted to contribute troops, which was the pinnacle of the concept of ‘collective security’.

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Need for Unanimous Decisions in the Assembly: The fact that decisions made in the Assembly needed the unanimous consent of members made decision-making slow, thus hampering the work of the League of Nations in responding to situations and conflicts.

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    The League of Nations in the 1920s The treaties signed at the Pasir Peace Conference had created several new states and had also changed the borders of existing states. The first job of the League was to sort of border disputes between countries. In fact, there were so many disputes for the League to resolve that some disputes were handled by the Conference of Ambassadors. While this may not have been part of the League, it was made up of leading politicians from main members of the League, was thus closely linked to it. Vilna, 1920 The Treaty of Versailles created two new states out of Austria-Hungary – Lithuania and Poland. Vilna was the capital of the new state of Lithuania, but the population was largely of Polish descent. In 1920, the Polish army simply took control of Vilna. •

Lithuania appealed to the League for help. This crisis was a crucial test for the League in resolving disputes between its own members. Poland was clearly the aggressor, though many people could see its case for invading Vilna.

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The League protested to Poland, but the Polish army did not withdraw. The League of Nations, according to the Covenant, could choose to call on Britain and France to send their troops to intervene and force the Poles out of Vilna. However, they did not do so. o

The French were not prepared to upset Poland because it saw it as a possibly ally against Germany in the future.

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The British were not prepared to act alone, or to send troops to the other side of Europe.

In the end, the League did nothing, and Vilna remained in Polish hands. This was seen as a failure on the part of the League. Upper Silesia, 1921 Upper Silesia was an industrial region situated on the border between Germany and Poland. Both Germans and Poles inhabited it, and both countries wanted control over the area, largely for its rich iron and steel industries. •

In 1920, a plebiscite was organised for Silesians to decide which country they wished to join. British and French soldiers were sent to keep peace during the voting process. The industrial areas mainly voted to stay in Germany, while the rural areas voted in favour of joining Poland. The League decided to carve Upper Silesia along these lines.

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Many safeguards were established to prevent such further disputes. Rail links between the two countries were safeguarded, and water and power supplies from one side of the border to the other could be arranged.

Both countries accepted the decision. Upper Silesia was a success for the League of Nations.

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    Aaland Islands, 1921 Both Finland and Sweden wanted control of the Aaland Islands, located midway between the two countries. Both countries were threatening to fight over the islands. Both sides appealed to the League for intervention. After studying the matter closely, the League concluded that the islands should go to Finland. The Swedish accepted the League’s ruling and war was avoided, and this peaceful resolution was seen as a major success for the League. Corfu, 1923 The border between Greece and Albania was one boundary that the Conference of Ambassadors was tasked with sorting out. An Italian general named Tellini was ordered to supervise this process. On 27 August, while they were surveying the Greek side of the frontier, Tellini and his team were ambushed and killed. •

Mussolini, the Italian leader, was furious and blamed the Greek government for the murder. On 29 August, he demanded that the Greeks pay compensation to Italy and execute the murders, but the Greeks had no idea who the murderers were. On 31 August, Mussolini ordered the Greek island of Corfu to be bombarded and then occupied, killing 15 people.

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Greece appealed to the League for help. The situation was serious, but the Council was already in session and could act swiftly. By 7 September, only seven days after the bombardment of Corfu, the Council had its judgment. It condemned Mussolini’s actions, but suggested that Greece pay compensation and that the League would hold this money. If Tellini’s killers were found, this money would be paid back to Italy.

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Mussolini pretended to accept the League’s decisions, but got to work on the Conference of Ambassadors and persuaded it to change the League’s ruling. He succeeded, and the Greeks had to apologise and pay compensation directly to Italy. On 27 September, Mussolini withdrew from Corfu boasting of his triumph.

The Corfu incident was seen as a massive failure for the League of Nations. Bulgaria, 1925 In October 1925, Greece invaded Bulgaria after an incident on the border in which some Greek soldiers were killed. Bulgaria appealed to the League for help, and sent instructions to its army. The League condemned the Greek action, and ordered Greece to pull out and pay compensation to Bulgaria. Faced with the disapproval of major powers in the League, the Greeks obeyed, but raised concerns about how there seemed to be a set of rules for larger states such as Italy and another for the smaller ones.

 

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    The Geneva Protocol The Corfu incident effectively demonstrated how larger powers within the League of Nations could undermine its very aim and framework of fair and peaceful resolutions to conflicts. •

In response, Britain and France drew up the Geneva Protocol in 1924, which said that if two members were in dispute, they would have to ask the League to sort out the disagreement. They hoped that this would strengthen the League.

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However, there was a General Election in Britain at the same time, before the plan could be put in effect. The new Conservative government refused to sign the protocol, which they believed that was not in their own interests.

Thus, the Protocol, meant to strengthen the League, was ultimately not passed. Disarmament in the 1920s In the 1920s, the League largely failed in bringing about disarmament, largely due to international disagreements and member nations refusing to disarm, setting a precedent for other nations to refuse doing so. •

At the Washington Conference of 1921, the United States, Britain, France and Japan agreed to limit the size of their armed forces, but that was as far disarmament got in the 1920s.

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In 1923, the League’s first attempt at a disarmament treaty was accepted by France and other nations, but was rejected by Britain on the grounds that it would tie to defending other countries. In 1926, plans were drawn for a disarmament conference, but it took five years to draw up a draft convention, which commenced in 1933. However, this convention was rejected by Germany.

The Locarno Treaties In October 1925, representatives of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia met in Locarno in Switzerland to discuss ensuring peace in Europe, and to resolve some disagreements left over from the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles. The conference was a success. After many days of negotiation, the conference emerged with several important agreements. •

Germany finally accepted its borders with France and Belgium laid out in the Treaty of Versailles. Britain and Italy guaranteed to protect France in the event of a German invasion.

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Germany accepted that the Rhineland, which bordered France, would be a demilitarised zone.

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France and Germany agreed to settle further disputes through the League of Nations.

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    The Locarno Treaties marked the dawn of a period of relative peace in Europe. The treaties were greeted with enthusiasm throughout Europe and especially in France. France finally felt that it was given some form of guarantee of border security. When the news of the agreements were announced, church bells were rung, fireworks were set off and there were massive celebrations across the country. Germany had shown more goodwill towards France than ever before, paving the way for Germany to join the League of Nations in 1926. The Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928 When signed in 1928, the Kellogg-Briand Pact seemed to be the high point in international relations in the 1920s. •

Signatories agreed that war was condemned as a means of solving international disputes and it was rejected as an instrument of policy. It was agreed that the settlement to all disputes would be sought only through peaceful means.

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However, the Kellogg-Briand Pact said nothing about what would happen if states broke its terms, and neither did it help the League of Nations in disarmament. The states all agreed that armies would have to be kept for ‘self-defence’. However, despite its shortcomings, the Pact was seen as a sign of the most stable geopolitical situation in the 1920s.

 

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    Working for a Better World

Apart from resolving international disputes, the League of Nations had set itself to fight poverty, disease and injustice all over the world through its committees and commissions. •

Refugees: The League did tremendous work in helping refugees and former prisonersof-war back to their homelands. It is estimated that in the first few years after the war, 400000 displaced people were returned by the League’s agencies.

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Working Conditions: The International Labour Organisation banned poisonous white lead from paint and also limited the hours that small children were allowed to work. It campaigned strongly for employers to improve working conditions generally. It introduced the maximum 48-hour workweek, and an eight-hour day, but few countries adopted it for fear of raising industrial costs. Health: The Health Committee worked hard to defeat leprosy, and started a global campaign to exterminate mosquitoes, which led to reduced cases of malaria and yellow fever in later decades. The Health Committee was so respected that even the USSR, which was otherwise opposed to the League, took the advice of the Health Committee in preventing plague in Siberia.

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Transport: The League made recommendations on marking shipping lanes and produced an international highway code for users.

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Social Problems: The League was at the forefront in the fight against slavery and drugs. It blacklisted four large German, Dutch, French and Swiss companies involved in the illegal drug trade. It brought about the freeing of 200000 slaves in British-owned Sierra Leone. It organised raids against slave owners and traders in Burma. It campaigned against the use of forced labour, such as in building the Tanganyika railway in Africa, where the death rate among African workers was 50%. The League’s pressure brought this figure down to 4%.

 

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    The League and Economic Depression In the 1920s, there had been a boom in world trade. American businesses, unaffected by the war, were driving the world economy. American banks were major lenders to Europe, and many countries enjoyed economic prosperity in this decade. However, the Wall Street Crash in the United States brought an abrupt halt to this. The Wall Street Crash resulted in fewer loans to Europe for reconstruction and development after the First World War. •

This led to a reduction in industry contracts across Europe, causing mass unemployment.

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Certain countries started to impose tariffs to protect their industries from foreign competition, but this only decreased global trade.

This created a cycle of economic decline throughout the world. More importantly, the depression spurred severe economic and political changes for countries across the world. •

Britain: Unemployment was at record levels, and the British government was unwilling to get involved in sorting out international disputes when its economy was in suffering and in a mess. Britain was even less enthusiastic about actively participating in the League of Nations in the 1930s.

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Germany: Mass poverty and unemployment led people to elect the Nazis to power, who were elected on a platform of solving Germany’s economic and social problems. The Nazis, led by Adolf Hitler, were open about their plans to withdraw from the Treaty of Versailles and regain lost German territory. The Nazis later led Germany out of the League in 1933. This political upheaval in Germany also spurred France to start building the Maginot Line, a series of frontier defences on its border with Germany.

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Japan: The depression caused a decline in trade, which was Japan’s main source of national income, thus threatening the collapse of its industry. This financial decline led Japan to take over Manchuria in China.

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Italy: Economic problems encouraged Mussolini to attempt to build an overseas empire to distract peoples’ attention from the economic difficulties at home, often speaking of restoring the glory of the Roman Empire.

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United States: The United States was unwilling to support economic sanctions against nations proposed by the League of Nations when its trade was in decline.

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    Case Study: Manchuria 1931 The first major test for the League of Nations came in 1931, when the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931. Manchuria was a northeastern province in China, and shared a border with Korea, then a Japanese colony. Causes for the Invasion From a long-term perspective, there were two key causes of the invasion relating to social and economic difficulties in Japan. •

Growing Power: Japan had been a rapidly growing power since 1900. By the 1920s, Japan had become a major power in Asia. It possessed a very powerful army and navy, with military leaders often dictating government policy. Japan had a very strong industry that exported goods to the United States and China. It had a growing empire that included the Korean peninsula and Taiwan, as well as a rapidly growing population.

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The Depression: The global catastrophe arising from the Wall Street Crash hit global trade, and thus affected the heavily trade-reliant Japanese economy very badly. The Depression caused the United States and China to impose tariffs on Japanese goods, damaging it further. Also, the collapse of the American market put the economy of Japan in crisis. Without trade and exports, Japan could not feed its people.

Military leaders that wielded great influence over Japanese government policy felt that they had the solution to Japan’s economic woes – to build up a Japanese empire by force. In 1931, an incident in Manchuria gave them their chance. The Mukden Incident The South Manchurian Railway travelled through Manchuria and was built and controlled by the Japanese, carrying Japanese goods into Manchuria and the rest of China. The railway brought food and raw materials back to Japan. In September 1931, the Japanese claimed that Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the railway. In retaliation, the Japanese army invaded Manchuria and set up a puppet government in February 1932. They renamed Manchuria ‘Manchukuo’. Even though the civilian government in Japan ordered their forces to withdraw from Manchuria, their instructions were ignored. By then, it was clear that the military and not the government that was in control of Japan’s foreign policy.

 

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    Response of the League China appealed to the League for help. Japan claimed that it was not invading Manchuria as an aggressor but in order to sort out the political instability there, which they claimed was infringing on their national security. Thus, Japan felt that it had the right to invade in selfdefence and keep peace. This complex dispute was not easy for the League to resolve. Furthermore, it had to handle the situation carefully, as Japan was a leading member of the League. •

The League’s officials had to sail around the world to assess the situation in Manchuria. In September 1932, one year after the invasion of Manchuria, these officials could present their report. While the report was fair and balanced, it was clear that Japan had acted unlawfully and that Manchuria should be returned to China.

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In February 1933, in open defiance of the League, not only did Japan announce that it was not going to withdraw from Manchuria, but it was going to invade more of China, still based on the argument of self-defence.

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On 24 February 1933, the report proposed by the League’s officials on Manchuria was approve 42-1 by the Assembly, with Japan being the sole dissenter. Angered at this insult, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations on 27 March 1933.

Economic sanctions were discussed, but without the United States, which was Japan’s main trading partner, these sanctions would be meaningless. •

The United States refused to impose economic sanctions. Britain was more interested in maintaining good relations with Japan, rather than agreeing to impose sanctions on her.

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The League considered a ban on arms sales, but member countries could not even agree about that.

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There was no prospect of the League sending troops to remove Japan by force. Britain and France, the two most powerful nations in the League, did not want to risk their armies or navies. Only the United States and the Soviet Union would have the resources to remove Japan from Manchuria by force, but they were not even members of the League.

The League was unable to do anything to stop Japan, mainly because of a refusal to cooperate among its own members.

 

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    Case Study: Abyssinia 1935 The fatal blow to the League came when the Italian dictator Mussolini invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in 1935. This invasion shared many similarities to the invasion of Manchuria. Like Japan, Italy was a leading member of the League. Like Japan, Italy invaded Abyssinia to expand her empire. Many wondered if the League’s response to this crisis would be the same. Background In 1896, Italian troops had tried to invade Abyssinia, but had been defeated by a poorly equipped army of tribesmen. Mussolini wanted revenge for this humiliating defeat. Mussolini also wanted the fertile lands and mineral wealth of Abyssinia to relieve Italy’s economic problems. Most importantly, he wanted glory and conquest, as his fascist style of leadership needed military victories, and he had often talked about restoring the glory of the Roman Empire. Mussolini’s opportunity came in 1934. In December 1934, there was a dispute between Italian and Ethiopian soldiers at the Wal-Wal oasis, 80km inside Abyssinia. Mussolini used this as an opportunity to justify an invasion of Abyssinia, declaring the oasis Italian territory. Mussolini demanded an apology, while preparing his army for a full-scale invasion of Abyssinia. Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Abyssinia, appealed to the League for help. Response of the League From January 1935 to October 1935, the League attempted to negotiate with Italy to seek a peaceful resolution to the tension in Abyssinia. •

The British and the French failed to take the situation seriously. They were desperate to maintain good relations with Mussolini than solve the conflict, as Mussolini seemed to be the strongest ally against Hitler, a possible enemy of theirs. When the three nations signed the Stretsa Pact, an agreement formally protesting German rearmament in early 1935, Britain and France did not even raise the question of Abyssinia.

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However, as the year wore on, there was a public outcry over Italy’s behaviour. A poll released by the League of Nations showed that an overwhelming majority of British citizens surveyed supported the use of military force to defend Abyssinia if necessary. With an election coming, British politicians started talking about ‘getting tough’ on Italy. However, this talk resulted in no action by the League to discourage Mussolini.

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On September 4, after eight months of deliberation, a committee reported to the League that neither side could be held responsible for the Wal-Wal incident. The League put forward a plan that would give Italy parts of Abyssinia, but Mussolini rejected this proposal

The Italian armed forces launched a full-scale invasion of Abyssinia in October 1935. This was a clear case of a larger nation attacking a smaller nation, which was the exact nature of conflicts the League was set up to resolve. The League of Nations’ Covenant was clear that

 

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    in such situations, sanctions must be introduced against the aggressor immediately. A committee was set up to agree what sanctions to impose on Italy. •

Sanctions would only work effectively if they were introduced immediately. The committee quickly imposed several trade and economic sanctions on Italy, including bans on arms sales, rubber, tin and metal exports to Italy.

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However, the League delayed a decision on whether it would impose a ban on oil exports to Italy. They were afraid that the United States would not support the sanctions at a time when there global trade volume was falling. More importantly, the League feared that the economic interests of its members would be further damaged by this ban.

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The League also refused to close the Suez Canal, which was the Italian’s main supply route to Abyssinia, even though Britain and France owned it. Closing the canal would end the Italian campaign almost immediately. However, both Britain and France were afraid that closing the canal would result in war with Italy. Thus, nothing was done about closing the Suez Canal. This was fatal for Abyssinia.

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Equally damaging to the League was secret dealing between the British and the French. In December 1935, when sanctions discussions were ongoing, the British and French foreign ministers were hatching a plan to give Mussolini two-thirds of Abyssinia in return for pulling his troops out of the country. In fact, the plan was even proposed to Mussolini before it was sent to the League or Haile Selassie. The French told the British that if the Italians did not support the plan, the French would no longer support sanctions against Italy. o

Details of this plan were leaked to the French press, and were a disaster for the League. In both Britain and France, the plan was seen as a blatant act of treachery against the League.

o

The United States was disgusted by the negotiations of the French and the British than they had been before, and blocked a move to support the League’s sanctions.

o

More importantly, this leak damaged the sanctions discussions, which lost all momentum. In fact, the decision whether or not to ban oil sales was further delayed. It was only in February 1936 did the committee conclude that Italy’s oil supply would run out in two months if the ban was imposed. By then, it was too late – Italy had conquered large parts of Abyssinia.

On 7 March 1936, Hitler marched his troops into the Rhineland, contravening the Treaty of Versailles. The French were desperate to gain the support of Italy in warding off Germany, and were now even more willing to give up Abyssinia to Mussolini. However, Italy continued to defy the League’s orders, and in May 1936 had taken over Abyssinia’s capital. Haile Selassie was forced into exile soon after, and Mussolini formally annexed the country. The League watched on helplessly as the Italians conquered Abyssinia. The League had failed.

 

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IGCSE History League of Nations Revision Notes

    Disarmament in the 1930s The League of Nations failed over disarmament. While the League had not had much success in the area during the 1920s, the international climate of the 1930s showed that disarmament was a far more serious and urgent issue for the League to resolve. Germany had long been angry about how it had been forced to disarm but other nations were as militarily powerful, if not even more so, as during the First World War. Disarmament Conference 1932 The Manchurian Crisis of 1931 made the League realise the urgency of disarmament. In February 1932, the long-awaited Disarmament Conference finally got underway. It collapsed in 1934, and failed because of a number of reasons. •

Half-hearted Resolutions: In five months, it had produced bold resolutions against the bombing of civilian populations, the size of artillery and to prohibit chemical warfare. However, few resolutions were brought up on eliminating the means of these actions. For example, while the conference banned the use of chemical warfare, it refused to ban the manufacture of chemical weapons.

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Germany: The League was unsure what to do about Germany. She had been a member of the League for six years, and many accepted that Germany should be treated more equally than under the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans were ultimately allowed to, with a degree of reluctance, to re-arm itself to a level closer to that of other powers. Germany’s participation in the Disarmament Conference was highly tumultuous. o

In July 1932, Germany tabled proposals for all countries to disarm down to its level, but the Conference failed to agree to the principle of equality, and Germany walked out. An agreement to treat Germany equally was reached in December 1932, which was followed by Germany’s return to the Conference in January 1933.

o

In February 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany, and immediately started to rearm Germany secretly. In October 1933, Hitler withdrew Germany from the Disarmament Conference, and soon, Germany was out of the League all together.

As a whole, disarmament failed because many countries were more concerned about their individual interests rather than heeding the League.

 

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