CAUSES OF WW2:

LEAGUE OF NATIONS
 CONTEXT:
WHY WAS IT CREATED?
The League of Nations was created out of the
horror of World War One.
The mass death on such a scale had not been
seen before and many countries’ governments
and people wanted to avoid such atrocities in
the future.
Among the key aims, the League aimed to
improve people’s working and living conditions
as it was generally believed that injustice and
poverty were important causes of war.
Woodrow Wilson’s address to Congress:
Where he called for a “general association of nations…formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual
guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.”
WHAT IS IT?
The League of Nations was an international
body tasked with facilitating greater
security and cooperation among nations.
Woodrow Wilson outlined to Congress a
Fourteen Point Plan to enable an
international body with the responsibility
and power to disarm international crises
and conflicts.
The seat of this international body would be
in Switzerland, a neutral nation, in the
hopes it would encourage discussion
instead of action
 1.
DIFFERING VIEWS ON THE
OPERATION OF THE LEAGUE
 “
authorize the League to take “any
action…to safeguard the peace”
HOW SHOULD IT OPERATE?

A world parliament
where A simple A strong League
representatives organisation that capable of enforcing
would meet regularly would meet during decisions with its
to decide on matter emergencies own army
which affected all of
them
THE PROS AND CONS OF EACH VERSION:

◆ Although France’s idea of a strong League would mean it could

be an effective force, the League was meant to be centred on
peace. Potentially, its own army could provoke another war.

◆ Britain’s simpler idea would mean that the League would merely
be dealing with emergencies rather than working on preventing
them from of occurring in the first place.

◆ The United States’ version of the League would be expensive and

complicated to organise; although it might have been the most
effective version in terms of keeping peace during the latter half
of the 1930s.
 HOW WOULD IT FUNCTION

If one country were aggressive to another,

the League would force the aggressor to
back down by:
◆ Pressure of world opinion
◆ World trade ban (economic sanctions)
◆ Force if necessary (though the League
had no army)
Member states were to take ‘common
action’ to defend each other in the event of
an attack. This became known as ‘Collective
Security’.
 2.
STRENGTHS OF THE LEAGUE
OF NATIONS
 WHAT WORKED WELL?
◆ Most major powers joined the
League in the hopes of
deterring another conflict,
totalling 58 nations by the
1930s
◆ To enforce its will, it could offer
arbitration through the Court of
International Justice
◆ The League could apply trade
sanctions against countries
that went to war
◆ There was wide support for
the idea of ‘collective
security’
◆ Established committees to
improve human rights
causes
◆ 4 powerful permanent
members
◆ Equality of voting power
and voice
 CASE STUDY: GREEK-BULGARIAN WAR 1925
THE PROBLEM LEAGUE ACTION
Fighting broke out on the The League Council ordered
border between Greece and both sides to stop fighting
Bulgaria. and withdraw.
The Greek army invaded The League threatened
Bulgaria. sanctions when the Greeks
Bulgaria appealed to the appeared reluctant to obey.
League to intervene. A League enquiry later found
Greece to be at fault and
imposed a fine.
RESULT
Both sides obeyed the
League’s orders.
Both Greece and Bulgaria
accepted the League’s
findings and followed the
required steps to ensure a
settled peace resume.
There were not many aspects of
the League of Nations that can
be considered “strengths” due
to its inevitable spectacular
failure.
 3.
WEAKNESSES OF THE LEAGUE
OF NATIONS
 WHY DID THE LEAGUE FAIL?
◆ Certain key nations did not join (e.g. USA) –
others left (Germany, 1933; Russia joined in
1934, left 1939; Japan left 1932/3; Italy left
1936)
◆ No permanent military force
◆ Economic sanctions (a staple of the League
response) were not highly effective without
the support of the USA
◆ The League failed to achieve disarmament of
all nations in the 1930s (one of the 4 principal
aims of the League)
◆ Key members (permanent members) of the
Council could veto action (e.g. Italy (1935-6
(Abyssinia crisis)) and Japan (1931-2
(Manchuria crisis)) to benefit themselves
◆ Decision-making was slow because
both the League Assembly and Council
required unanimous votes to take
action – in some cases, aggressive
countries had already been successful
in their aims before the League could
act
◆ The United States and other key
states withheld their support/refused
to join
◆ The League relied on goodwill and
persuasion to enforce its decisions
◆ Many countries saw the League as a
‘winners’ club (winners of World War
One)
◆ Over-ambitious aims
 CASE STUDY: MANCHURIAN CRISIS 1931 - 1933
THE PROBLEM
Japan was a fledgling nation in the
mid 1800s and was making great
industrial strides. To fuel this
industrial growth, they required VAST
resources; more than they had in their
territories. Across the Sea of Japan,
China’s territory, ‘Manchuria’, was rich
in minerals and had fertile land.
Japan’s silk exports had collapsed due
to the Great Depression and needed to
create new revenue; farming. Japan
Manchuria as an effective buffer
against communist USSR.
Japan saw ‘adding Manchuria to the
Empire’ as a means to an end and
annexed it in 1931. China appealed to
the League for intervention.
LEAGUE ACTION
1931: The League ordered the Japanese
to withdraw their forces.
1932: The League appointed the Lytton
Commission to investigate.
The League accepted the report
and instructed its members to refuse
recognition of the Japanese territory
‘Manchuko’ and invited Japan to
return Manchuria to the Chinese.
RESULT
1931: The Japanese government agreed. The
Army refused. No withdrawal.
1932: The report outlined that the
Japanese were guilty of illegally and
forcibly seizing part of China’s territory and
that there was no Chinese support for the
action. The report also suggested that
Manchuria become a semi-independent
state.
Japan kept Manchuria.
1933: Japan left the League and
endured international isolation
until 1936.
SUPPORTING FACTORS

◆ The international community were hesitant to impose economic

sanctions in light of the Great Depression which had already
damaged world trade and any forms of economic sanctions
would deepen the wounds already created.
◆ The great powers of the world were unwilling to take military
actions for fear of repercussions. Examples of such inaction:
◆ Britain did not act for fear of revenge attacks on their
Pacific colony in Singapore.
◆ The U.S. was the most powerful country at the time, and as such
had economic ties to Japan and did not want to endanger their
interests in the region.
 Mounting
international
tensions World
War Two League of
Nations
inability to
act and deter
conflict
 The decline and ultimate failure of the League of
Nations in the 1930s reflected the unwillingness or
inability of Britain, France, and the United States to
oppose the increasingly nationalist-imperialist and
militaristic actions of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy,
and imperial Japan.