The creation of the League of

Nations

What does this

cartoon suggest
about the formation
of the League of
Nations?

Before 1914 the Great powers had been split into two alliances. Both sides
were so powerful that neither would win a war, so there wouldnt be one!
After the failure of this idea and WWI people looked for a new way of
keeping world peace.
President Wilson proposed an international organisation called the League
of Nations which would solve disputes between countries in a peaceful
way.
The idea was that all members would agree to protect each other against
an agressor. This was known as Collective Security.
If two members of the league were in dispute then the League would
decide who was in the wrong and would enforce that decision.
League members would therefore be secure as together they would be too
powerful for any single country.
What are the problems with what was being proposed?

The Covenant: The aims

The aims and organisation of the League were set out in the Covenant,
this was a solemn promise signed by all members. The Covenant also
included in all of the peace treaties.
The aims:
1. To keep world peace by dealing with disputes between nations
2. To safeguard the independence of countries and their new frontiers
3. To encourage nations to reduce their armaments
4. To improve living and working conditions for all people
Task
. Copy all of the aims above.
. Which aims do you think would be the easiest for the members to follow?
. Which aims do you think would be the hardest for members to follow?
. Do you think these aims were realistic? Why?

The Covenant: Organisation

1. Stick in your diagram
2. Which parts of the Leagues organisation would
deal with:
a) The Leagues main aim of keeping world peace
b) A request to join the League?
c) Reports of slavery
d) Two countries ownership claims to a group of
islands
e) A complaint about the way France was running
Syria (a French mandate)

The powers of the League

The hope was that disputes between members would be
sorted out by discussion in the council. If this failed the
Council would decide which country was in the wrong and
use the following powers against it:
1 . Moral condemnation condemn the actions of the
country and tell it to stop
2 . Economic sanctions tell other countries not to trade
with the country
3 . Military force use armed forces from member countries
Tasks
Copy the above information including the title
Cut out the statements you have been given and arrange
them under the headings Strengths and Weaknesses

Forty four nations,

including Britain,
France, Italy and
Japan joined

The most powerful

country, the USA,
refused to join.
Other important
countries were only
members for a
short time.

The Council was

dominated by
powerful Europeans
countries and
appeared to others
as too much of a
European club

Members wanted
to co-operate and
prevent any more
wars

The League had no

military force of
its own

For the League to

act, unanimous
votes were needed
in the Council and
Assembly
(excluding those in
the dispute)

As a way of keeping
the peace, the
League was a step
forward from the
old alliance system

The League was

tied into the Peace
Treaties which
some countries
such as Germany,
were hostile to

Many people around

the world
supported the aims
of the league

The League had

some powerful
weapons, especially
economic sanctions

Chances of success.
Thinking about the aims, organisation and the
powers of the League, do you think the
League will be successful?

Possible problems..
In pairs you have been given different possible problems
that the League could face.
In your books you need to write the following:
What countries are involved?
What has happened?
What action should the League take? (which country is
in the wrong and which powers should the League use)
Chance of your actions being successful (1, no chance
5, very successful)
When you have finished swap with another pair or ask me
for another one. There are 5 problems in total!