The League of nations

• The league was set up to prevent war
• what was The Great Depression

  The Great Depression was the worst downturn in US history.
• Assembly was the main forum of the League of Nations for decreasing important issues.
• What were the four main aims of the League?

  Stop wars; Improve people's lives; Disarmament; Enforce the Treaty of Versailles
• What was collective security?

  All members could expect to be secure because the other members of the League would defend them from attack.
• Name FOUR permanent members of the League's Council.

  Britain, France, Italy and Japan
• How many times did the Council meet in a year?

  Met 4 or 5 times a year and in times of crisis
• How often did the League's Assembly meet?

  once a year
• Give two functions of the Assembly.


  Considered matters of general policy; Controlled the League's budget; Admitted new members; Elected non-permanent members of the Council
• What was the Secretariat?

  Civil service of the league - carried out the leagues work
• What did the Permanent Court of International Justice do?

  Offered an arbitration service to countries in dispute; Gave legal advice to the Council
• What was the purpose of the International Labour Organisation?

  It's central purpose was to promote good working practices on working hours, women's rights, child labour, employers' liability etc
• what was a mandate?

  These were former colonies belonging to Germany and her allies ruled on behalf of the League of Nations by Britain and France.
• What was the Mandates Commission main aim?

  To ensure that Britain and France ruled these countries for the benefit of the people living there.
• Name two other Commissions?

  Slavery Commission- Aimed to abolish slavery around the world; Refugees Committee - tried to return refugees or help settle them and find work for them in new countries
• Name three important countries that didn't join the League when it was first set up in 1920.

  USA; USSR; Germany
• How many countries joined the League when it was first set up?

  42
• Give THREE powers that the League had to deal with aggressors.

  Could morally condemn a country; Impose sanctions; Get an army together
• Give TWO reasons why collective security was hard to ensure.

  No army of its own to enforce decisions; Sanctions ineffective if USA not a member; Relied on good will - countries co-operating.
• Why could the League take a long time to make decisions?

  All decisions taken by Assembly or Council had to be unanimous and this could be difficult to achieve; Assembly met only once a year
• Name two disputes that the League was successful at resolving in the 1920s

  Upper Silesia, 1921 (Poland vs Germany); Aaland Islands, 1921 (Finland vs Sweden); Greece vs Bulgaria, 1925
• Name two disputes that the League was a failure at resolving in the 1920s

  Vilna, 1920 (Poland vs Lithuania); Corfu, 1923 (Italy vs Greece)
• Give ONE way (the most important?) that the League was able to help refugees in the 1920s.

  'Nansen passport' that made it easier for genuine refugees to return home or settle in new lands; 400, 000 prisoners returned to their homes; Helped hundreds of thousands in Turkish refugee crisis in 1922
• Give ONE way (the most important?) that the League was able to improve working conditions in the 1920s.

  International Labour Organisation (ILO) banned lead in paint; limited hours small children could work; introduced resolution for a 48 hour week and 8 hour day.
• Give ONE way (the most important?) that the League was able to help slaves in the 1920s.

  Freed 200, 000 slaves from Sierra Leone and Burma; Iraq, Jordan and Nepal abolished slavery all together; Challenged use of forced labour on Tanganyika railway and reduced death rate from 50 to 4%.
• What was the Dawes Plan, 1924?


  US loaned money to Germany and rest of Europe to help recover from the economic crisis. This money rebuilt industry, which increased employment, which increased trade and profits and so on.
• What was the Locarno Pact 1925?

  Agreement between Germany, France and Belgium not to alter western borders
• What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928?


  65 nations condemned war as a means of solving problems and promised a peaceful solution.
• Give three reasons why the League was successful in the 1920s.


  Little appetite for war; The world's economy improved in the late 1920s; It had some early success
• Give three reasons why the Great Depression made war more likely

  Hardship or bitterness - e.g. Terrible; Extreme or violent action - e.g. Hitler came to power and was prepared to start a war; Japan invaded Manchuria; A weak response from the League of Nation
• Give three reasons why the World Disarmament conference failed in the 1930s


  It was difficult to agree a framework for disarmament; Countries were anxious about disarmament and reluctant to trust each other; Not all powers wanted to disarm.
• Give two reasons why Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931.


  Social and economic problems caused by the Great Depression; need for resources; Military had taken over the government; Mukden incident - railway was blown up (by Japan, who blamed China)
• Give TWO responses that the League made to the invasion of Manchuria.


  Asked Japan to withdraw; Set up Lytton Commission to report on what happened; Report took 1 year to write; Lytton Report blames Japan; Assembly accepts its findings by a vote of 42 to 1; Japan walks out of the League
• Name the dictator of Italy in 1935

  Benito Mussolini
• Give two reasons why Italy invaded Abyssinia in October 1935.


  To expand Italy's empire and show their power; Mussolini wanted to distract people from the problems caused by the Great Depression; Revenge for defeat of Italians in 1896; Italian and Abyssinian soldiers clashed at oasis of Wal Wal; Abyssinian Army was poorly equipped and would be easy to beat.
• Give two responses that the League made to Italy's invasion of Abyssinia.

  Condemned Italy and asked it to withdraw; Imposed sanctions (but not on coal, iron or oil)
• Name the secret pact negotiated by France and Britain that gave parts of Abyssinia to Italy.


  Hoare-Laval Plan
• Give six reasons for the FAILURe of the League of Nations. Give an example of each.


  French and British self-interest; Absent powers (USA, USSR) -made it hard to enforce decisions; Ineffective sanctions -(weren't used or didn't work); Lack of armed forces -Hard to enforce treaty as members thought it was unfair; Unfair Treaty; Reaching decisions too slowly
• what was the war guilt clause?

  Article 231
• Refugees

  Individuals forced to leave their country of origin due to persecution, war, or violence. Protected under international law and unable to return home safely.