The League of Nations
History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 2.1.1
The League of Nations
Preventing war
- The League of Nations was an organisation across the world that was set up to promote peace, disarmament and to solve world problems without war.
- It was hoped that there would never be another war like the First World War, and that WW1 would have been a ‘war to end all wars’.
Solving world issues
- The League of Nations was set up to prevent war, but also to help solve other world issues such as:
- Improving working conditions for all.
- Improving humanitarian conditions (by stopping things like slavery and helping to cure deadly diseases).
Moral condemnation
- Instead of countries going to war against each other, the League of Nations tried to sort out issues using meetings and negotiation.
- When this failed, the League placed economic sanctions (trading bans) on the nations that had caused the problem and publicly shamed them.
- This was known as moral condemnation.
Military sanctions
- The League of Nations could not enforce strong military action.
- It had no standing army of its own.
- Member countries were not forced to send troops.
- This weakness made sanctions mostly ineffective.
- Aggressive countries like Italy and Japan ignored the League.
Which countries weren't in the LoN?
- America refused to join the League of Nations.
- Germany (and her allies) were forbidden from joining the League of Nations.
- America refusing to join made the League of Nations look weak and unimportant.
- By stopping countries like Germany from joining, international tensions continued.
Test yourself on The League of Nations
Where were the headquarters of the League of Nations?