Evaluation of The League of Nations in the 1920's

Evaluation of The League of Nations in the 1920's

The League of Nations was formed for one main reason: to ensure that a

war like world war one NEVER broke out again. It wanted to promote

international co-operation and to achieve international peace and

security, as well as raise living conditions of men and women

worldwide. It planned to do this by having a Covenant that all nations

should follow, whether or not they were in the League. The Covenant

was:

To promote international co-operation and to achieve international

peace and security:

1. By the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war.

2. By the prescription of open just and honourable relations between

nations.

3. By the firm establishment of international law as the rule of

conduct between governments.

4. By the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all

treaty obligations in the dealings of organized peoples with one

another.

The nations that were in the League were most of the world, with the

exception of the defeated nations of World War One (Germany, Austria,

Hungary) who were refused entry and the USA, who refused to join. The

main nations in the League were Britain, France and Italy, because

they were powerful nations at the time. When part of the covenant of

the League was broken, the League could respond with sanctions. There

were three.

Verbal Sanctions: warning an aggressor nation that she would need to

leave another nation's territory or face the consequences.

Economic Sanctions: financially hit the aggressor nation so that she

would do as the League required.

Physical sanction: military force would be used. But, there was no

army that the League could summon directly. They had to be pulled from

a country's army, and no country HAD to give an army.

Now, the League did have successes. Examples of these are Upper

Silesia in 1921.