"On Balance the League of Nations Proved to Be a Failure in the 1920’s" How Far Do You Agree with This Statement?
“On balance the league of nations proved to be a failure in the 1920’s.”
How far do you agree with this statement? Explain. 10 marks.
The League of Nations was the brainchild of USA’s president, Woodrow Wilson, and was one of his suggested 14 points that followed the Treaty of Versailles. The League was based on a covenant, a set of 26 articles, which all the members had to follow. The main structure of the League was set in the form of The Assembly and the Council, of which there were four permanent members, Britain, France, Italy and Japan. It was managed by mandates, and had many aims and duties, including the administration of plebiscites and the settlement of border disputes caused by new nations. The League believed in ensuring collective security, meaning the members would act collectively to prevent war and the causes of war, by defending nations both large and small. They hoped to discourage aggression and encourage countries to cooperate, especially in business and trade. The League also hoped to achieve disarmament, and improve living and working conditions of people in all parts of the world.
The League had many opportunities to meet its aims during the 1920’s. Despite cynics’ opinions of the League of Nations, many of its actions during this period were successful. For example, the Aaland Islands’ crisis. The Aaland Islands were two islands in the Baltic Sea, half way between Sweden and Finland. Both nations claimed to the islands, and in order to try and resolve the situation they invited the League to reach a judgement. The League decided to give islands to Finland, and though Sweden accepted this judgement grudgingly, it did accept it. This was, on the whole, a successful result, as the nations in the dispute accepted the League’s authority to make final decisions over the matter.
In addition to this, the League of Nations showed it could compromise in difficult circumstances, for example in the case of Upper Silesia, an area that
How far do you agree with this statement? Explain. 10 marks.
The League of Nations was the brainchild of USA’s president, Woodrow Wilson, and was one of his suggested 14 points that followed the Treaty of Versailles. The League was based on a covenant, a set of 26 articles, which all the members had to follow. The main structure of the League was set in the form of The Assembly and the Council, of which there were four permanent members, Britain, France, Italy and Japan. It was managed by mandates, and had many aims and duties, including the administration of plebiscites and the settlement of border disputes caused by new nations. The League believed in ensuring collective security, meaning the members would act collectively to prevent war and the causes of war, by defending nations both large and small. They hoped to discourage aggression and encourage countries to cooperate, especially in business and trade. The League also hoped to achieve disarmament, and improve living and working conditions of people in all parts of the world.
The League had many opportunities to meet its aims during the 1920’s. Despite cynics’ opinions of the League of Nations, many of its actions during this period were successful. For example, the Aaland Islands’ crisis. The Aaland Islands were two islands in the Baltic Sea, half way between Sweden and Finland. Both nations claimed to the islands, and in order to try and resolve the situation they invited the League to reach a judgement. The League decided to give islands to Finland, and though Sweden accepted this judgement grudgingly, it did accept it. This was, on the whole, a successful result, as the nations in the dispute accepted the League’s authority to make final decisions over the matter.
In addition to this, the League of Nations showed it could compromise in difficult circumstances, for example in the case of Upper Silesia, an area that