Preview

The Aims of the League of Nations

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1408 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Aims of the League of Nations
In 1919 Woodrow Wilson stated, "I can predict with absolute certainty that within another generation there will be another world war if the nations of the world do not work together to prevent it." The League of Nations was Wilson's idea in keeping the world at peace and it had four main aims: to stop war, to disarm, to improve people's lives and jobs and to enforce the Treaty of Versailles. Even though the aims of the League are presently clearly ? historians still argue that the real aims of the League are not what they appear to be.

The League believed in keeping peace all around the world, showing shown clearly through its name the League of Nations. However, historians claim "The League of Nations, the unhappy forerunner of the UN, should have been designated the League of Imperial Nations, given that most of the world at the time was occupied or controlled by imperial powers." The League claimed that it would help countries with any matter, and yet when dealing with imperial nations or nations of the Security Council, it was the smaller countries that suffered. In the Corfu Incident, Mussolini invaded and it was Greece that had to back down in order for Mussolini to stop. Clearly this does not meet the aim of improving people's lives. True, it did prevent war, but it also laid groundwork for the Greek invasion of Bulgaria in 1925. Similar to the Corfu incident, Greek officials were killed, but the Greeks did not gain the same result as the Italians. True, the League settled the dispute and prevented outbreak of war, but clearly shown through the two situations, countries that were more powerful and more significant in the League were treated better. Other nations were not benefiting the same way, which clearly emphasizes historians that claim it should be the "League of Imperial Nations." These were the countries that obtained power. Also seen in when the French and the British invaded the Ruhr for reparations. France and Britain were not condemned, and it

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    After the war ended, Allied leaders and President Wilson were faced with putting Europe back together the way it was before the war. Certain events led to the Senate’s defeat of the treaty. Wilson was an optimistic progressive, with striking policies for the outlook of Europe. Many of these plans were shut down by other leaders; Wilson still approved the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles because his prime issue, the League of Nations, was still included. Many people of the world did not see the League as a good idea. They wanted and were promised the war to end in a peace and “moralize nationalism”, but the treaty did not reach their expectations (Document B). It planned to prevent effects that were conflicting by using the same things for opposition. It wanted to use force to destroy force, militarism to prevent militarism, et cetera (Document A). Americans recognized that the resolutions projected and allowed by Wilson were condemned to fail.…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ap Euro: Mchapter 26 Outline

    • 8194 Words
    • 33 Pages

    * President Wilson saw the problems that arose with the treaty and placed hopes in the League of Nations…

    • 8194 Words
    • 33 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The plan for the League of Nations was part of the peace treaty that ended World War One. By law, the United States Senate would have to vote on the treaty. President Wilson believed the Senate would have to approve it if the American people demanded it. So Wilson traveled across America. He stopped in many places to speak about the need for the League of Nations. He said the league was the only hope for world peace. It was the only way to prevent another world war.…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ironically the League of nation’s answer for world peace was the main cause of World War II. Germany loss World War I and was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, saying that there would not be anymore wars ever. The Treaty of Versailles was created at the end of World War I in hopes to keep world peace; both the Allied Powers and the Central Powers signed the treaty and agreed to keep the peace with one another. The Treaty of Versailles was a great idea on paper, but unfortunately it helped cause World War II. The Treaty of Versailles helped cause World War II by taking land away from Germany, limiting the size of Germany’s military, pushing war reparations on Germany, and using the War Guilt Clause against the Germans.…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First, The League Of Nations was established postwar in order to keep the peace. Although the United States President Woodrow Wilson was an enthusiastic proponent of the League, the United States did not officially join the League of Nations due to opposition from congress men who believed that the United States should remain apart from the affairs and interests, especially politically, of other countries. In January of 1918, President Wilson announced his plan of the fourteenth point plan, which he believed would transform the world politic issues. Wilson believed that affairs between nations should be conducted in the open, on the basis of self-determination, and the rejection of military force to settle issues. These ideas became large components of the League of Nations. Many may argue that the League of Nations failed,…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Treaty of Versailles. DBQ

    • 790 Words
    • 3 Pages

    On January 8, 1918, Wooldrow Wilson the president at the time, turn U.S. participation in the war into a religious crusade. He wanted to change the nature of international relations and to make the world safe for democracy. This war was merely a struggle among imperialist powers. Wooldrow Wilson announced his plan, which was meant to organize peace. These were Wilson's fourteen paints. It argued for "open covenants of peace openly arrived at" freedom of seas, equality of trade, and self-determination for all peoples. His most important point, which was the last one (14th) called for international origination, a "League of Nations", to preserve peace.…

    • 790 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Secondly, ratifying the Treaty of Versailles would eventually lead to the creation of the League of Nations. The League of Nations came from Woodrow Wilson's idea of the Fourteen Points. The League of Nations is the most important point for Wilson and it called for the creation of a "general association of nations". The League of Nations would help preserve world peace and prevent future wars. They would accomplish their goals by agreeing to respect and protect each other's territory and political…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    League Of Nations Dbq

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages

    By creating the League of Nations, Wilson attempted to promote peace in the world and to provide humanitarian aid to the whole world. World…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    League of Nations proposed by Wilson, meant ot maintain peace in Europe and avert future wars. Unable to enforce peace in Europe…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Versaille Treaty Dbq

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages

    After World War I, the world tried to construct some form of peace which would prevent another world war. President Wilson thought that World War I would be the “war to end all wars”. Wilson tried to make this possible through his Fourteen Points plan which would create and keep the peace throughout the world. Even though the Versailles Treaty included many of these points, Wilson failed at gaining the Senate’s support. Wilson pushed the Senate to ratify the Versailles Treaty, however, Wilson’s attempt was unsuccessful due to the strength and views of the opposition forces.…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the war aims outlined by President Wilson in 1918, which he believed would promote lasting peace; called for self-determination, freedom of the seas, free trade, end to secret agreements, reduction of arms and a league of nations…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Once World War I came to a close, many decided they never wanted to go through such a terrible war again. In fact, they even said that World War I was “the war to end all wars.” They wanted to bring peace throughout the nations, something that would ensure that they would never have reason to fight again, at least not nearly as bad as the Great War had been. President Woodrow Wilson was a strong supporter of a peace between all continents, even constructing a 14 Point Plan that would focus on bringing peace to the world. As a result, when the League of Nations came into being, he fully supported the Treaty of Versailles, which would not only induct the United States into the League, but also hold every single one of the signers to their promise of peace and unity. President Wilson brought this to the attention of the United States government, and though the Treaty of Versailles supported many of Wilson’s points from his 14 Point Plan, it was unsuccessful in passing. Though Wilson was very stubborn in trying to get the treaty passed, the strength of the opposing forces was too great, and Senate declined the passing of the treaty.…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    convince Congress of the need for it. During the 1920s and 1930s public and congressional…

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the other hand, there are other reasons to why the League of Nations was unsuccessful in dealing with disputes. One such reason is the Corfu incident in 1923. This was where some Italian soldiers employed by the Conference of Ambassadors to mark out the borders between Albania and Greece were murdered by Greek bandits. The Italian leader, Mussolini, demanded 50 million in compensation because of this. Because Mussolini demanded 50 million worth of compensation, Greece asked the League for help and to investigate. After it was brought to attention, Italy refused to adopt this and invaded Corfu. After this, the Conference of Ambassadors ordered Greece to accept Mussolini’s demands. This was a failure…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The League of Nations, a former international organization, was formed after World War I to promote international peace and security. The basis of the League, also called the Covenant, was written into the Treaty of Versailles and other peace treaties and provided for an assembly, a council, and a secretariat. Because the peace treaties had created the League of Nations, the League was bound to uphold their principles. but however, it became apparent that some of the terms of the treaties were harsh and unjust and needed amending. This undermined the league. Woodrow Wilson hoped however, by including it in the treaties that this would ensure that the League was accepted by all nations. However, from the start, the League shared many of the weaknesses of the treaties themselves. The defeated powers were not consulted about the league and were not invited to join. The victorious powers did not really agree among themselves about the League.<br><br>A system of colonial commands was also set up. Based in Geneva, the League proved useful in settling minor international disputes, but they had a hard time stopping aggression involving major powers such as, Japan's occupation of Manchuria in 1931, Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in 1935-36, and Germany's seizure of Austria in 1938. It collapsed early in World War II and ended in 1946.<br><br>Its ending in 1946 was because it had some basic and fundamental problems such as dealing with aggression involving major powers. Countries like Japan and Italy were able to just walk over the League of Nations because it had no armed forces of its own and it relied upon the co-operation of its members. This problem was inter-linked with the fact that the League was very slow at making decisions. With no armed forces this made it difficult to impose decisions. Therefore when a crisis occurred the league was supposed to act fast with resoluteness. Although, often the League met too infrequently and took far too long to make critical…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays