History UsefulNotes / LeagueOfNations

The precursor to the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations, the League of Nations was formed after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI to ensure peace and prevent UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

However, the League ultimately had several structural weaknesses that handicapped its ability to enforce peace.

The League lacked an armed force and depended on the victorious Great Powers of the Great War-Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan-to enforce its resolutions via military or economic pressure. The concept of collective security and disarmament, central to the League's goals of peace, failed as the member nations were unwilling to disarm their militaries for varying reasons. Furthermore, as ThoseWackyNazis re-militarised their army and threatened peace in Europe, the surrounding countries opted to [[LensmanArmsRace follow suit]].

The League lacked an armed force and depended on the victorious Great Powers of the Great War-Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan-to enforce its resolutions via military or economic pressure. The concept of collective security and disarmament, central to the League's goals of peace, failed as the member nations were unwilling to disarm their militaries for varying reasons. Furthermore, as ThoseWackyNazis re-militarised their army and threatened peace in Europe, the surrounding countries opted to [[LensmanArmsRace follow suit]]. Finally, the invasion of Ethiopia by Fascist Italy showed just how impotent the League was since none of its members sought to lift a finger to stop the invasion despite each member being obligated to deter Italy's aggression under the principles of collective security. A betrayed Emperor, Haile Selassie, would go before the League and proclaim that the failure of collective security would spell doom for the world.

The League lacked an armed force and depended on the victorious Great Powers of the Great War-Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan-to enforce its resolutions via military or economic pressure. The concept of collective security and disarmament, central to the League's goals of peace, failed as the member nations were unwilling to disarm their militaries for varying reasons. Furthermore, as ThoseWackyNazis re-militarised their army and posed a threat to peace in Europe, the surrounding countries opted to [[LensmanArmsRace follow suit]]. Finally, the invasion of Ethiopia by Fascist Italy showed just how impotent the League was since none of its members sought to lift a finger to stop the nvasion despite each member being obligated to deter invasion under the principles of collective security. A betrayed Emperor Haile Selassie would go before the League and proclaim that the failure of collective security would spell doom for the world.

Even though the League was the brainchild of UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson, the U.S. never joined, much to Wilson's embarrassment. The main sticking point was Article X, which established collective security. Opponents, led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, believed this would undermine U.S. sovereignty, namely Congress's constitutional right to declare war, and went so far as to claim the League was precisely the type of "entangling alliances" that UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson, and UsefulNotes/JamesMonroe had wanted the U.S. to avoid.

Precursor to the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations, the League of Nations was formed after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI to ensure peace and prevent UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

The ideas behind the League represented a fundamental shift in thought from the preceding hundred years; rather than each nation pursuing its own national interests at the expense of others or maintaining through {{Realpolitik}} and a balance of powers, the League brought in the concept of international co-operation. The League was structured under three main constitutional organs: the Assembly (all members of the League); the Council (the executive body of the League) and the Permanent Secretariat. These bodies would later be carried on to the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations.

To its credit, the League successfully mediated a number of disputes, especially surrounding borders, the opium trade, and slavery. For example, there was a long-running argument between Sweden and Finland over the Åland Islands that had the two nations on the brink of war by 1920. Britain asked the League to intervene, and the agreement forged by the League in that dispute (that the islands would remain under Finnish control, but demilitarized) remains in force to this day. It was also successful in halting the use of slave labor on Libyan rubber plantations owned by Firestone.

However, the League ultimately revealed itself to have several structural weaknesses that handicapped its ability to enforce peace.

Despite the fact that the League was the brainchild of UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson, the U.S. never joined, much to Wilson's embarrassment. The main sticking point was Article X, which established collective security. Opponents, led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, believed this would undermine U.S. sovereignty, namely Congress's constitutional right to declare war, and went so far as to claim the League was exactly the type of "entangling alliances" that UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson, and UsefulNotes/JamesMonroe had wanted the U.S. to avoid.

The League lacked its own armed force and so depended on the victorious Great Powers of the Great War: Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan to enforce its resolutions via military or economic pressure. The concept of collective security and disarmament, central to the League's goals of peace, failed as the member nations were unwilling to disarm their militaries for varying reasons. Furthermore, as ThoseWackyNazis re-militarised their army and posed a threat to peace in Europe, the nations opted to [[LensmanArmsRace follow suit]]. Finally, the invasion of Ethiopia by Fascist Italy eventually showed just how impotent the League was since none of its members sought to lift a finger to help Ethiopia despite each member being obligated to deter invasion under the principles of collective security. A betrayed Emperor Haile Selassie would go before the League and proclaim that the failure of collective security would spell doom for the world.

After World War II broke out, the League was effectively left dormant for several years and was officially dissolved by its own assembly in 1946, with most of its assets and documents being given to the fledgling UsefulNotes/UnitedNations. While the League was a failure, it was considered by some to be a good first try in building international institutions around co-operation rather than conquest.

Despite the fact that the League was the brainchild of UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson, the U.S. never joined, much to Wilson's embarrassment. The main sticking point was Article X, which established collective security. Opponents, led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, believed this would undermine U.S. sovereignty, namely Congress's constitutional right to declare war. However, Wilson refused to compromise on Article X, which he saw as essential to guarantee world peace. This left Wilson and Congress at an impasse, resulting in the League going nowhere. Wilson's successor, UsefulNotes/WarrenHarding, was opposed to the League, so any hope of U.S. membership died with his election. Naturally, the noninvolvement of the U.S. would lead to future problems for the League.

Precursor to the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations, the League of Nations was formed after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI to ensure peace and prevent UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Guess how it worked out.

The ideas behind the League represented a fundamental shift in thought from the preceding hundred years; rather than each nation pursuing their own national interests at the expense of others, the League brought in the concept of international co-operation. The League lacked its own armed force and so depended on the victorious Great Powers of the Great War: Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan to enforce its resolutions via military or economic pressure.

The League was structured under three main constitutional organs: the Assembly (all members of the League); the Council (the executive body of the League) and the Permanent Secretariat. These bodies would later be carried on to the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations.

The League successfully mediated a number of disputes, especially surrounding borders, the opium trade, and slavery. For example, there was a long-running argument between Sweden and Finland over the Åland Islands that had the two nations on the brink of war by 1920. Britain asked the League to intervene, and the agreement forged by the League in that dispute (that the islands would remain under Finnish control, but demilitarized) remains in force to this day. It was also successful in halting the use of slave labor on Libyan rubber plantations owned by Firestone. Website/TheOtherWiki has more information.

The concept of collective security and disarmament, central to the League's goals of peace, failed as the member nations were unwilling to disarm their militaries for varying reasons. Furthermore, as ThoseWackyNazis re-militarised their army and posed a threat to peace in Europe, the nations opted to [[LensmanArmsRace follow suit]].

[[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII You can see where this is going.]]

The League successfully mediated a number of disputes, especially surrounding borders, the opium trade, and slavery. For example, there was a long-running argument between Sweden and Finland over the Åland Islands that had the two nations on the brink of war by 1920. Britain asked the League to intervene, and the agreement forged by the League in that dispute (that the islands would remain under Finnish control, but demilitarized) remains in force to this day. It was also successful in halting the use of slave labor on Libyan rubber plantations owned by Firestone. Wiki/TheOtherWiki has more information.

Precursor to the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations, the League of Nations was formed after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI to ensure peace and prevent UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready Guess how it worked out.]]

The ideas behind the League represented a fundamental shift in thought from the preceding hundred years; rather than each nation pursuing their own national interests at the expense of others, the League brought in the concept of international co-operation. The League lacked its own armed force and so depended on the victorious Great Powers of the Great War: Great Britain, France, Italy & Japan[[note]]America didn't join because of domestic politics. Naturally, this led to problems later on.[[/note]] to enforce its resolutions via military or economic pressure.

* ''{{Film/Wilson}}'', a 1944 {{Biopic}} about UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson, naturally climaxes with the founding of the League of Nations and Wilson's failed campaign to get the U.S. to join. This being a wartime film, it's very much a plea for the U.S. not to screw it up again come the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* ''{{Film/Wilson}}'', a 1944 {{Biopic}} about UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson, naturally climaxes with the founding of the League of Nations and Wilson's failed campaign to get the U.S. to join. This being a wartime film, it's very much a plea for the U.S. not to do the same thing all over again come the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* ''{{Film/Wilson}}'', a 1944 {{Biopic}} about UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson, naturally climaxes with the founding of the League of Nations and Wilson's failed campaign to get the U.S. to join.

* At one point, WWE featured a heel stable titled the League of Nations comprised of Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}, Wrestling/{{Rusev}}, Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio, and Wrestling/WadeBarrett. The faction eventually broke apart in it’s final weeks by kicking Barrett out and then leaving the ring one by one in their final match, resulting in Sheamus shouting, "The League is finished!"

The League successfully mediated a number of disputes, especially surrounding borders, the opium trade, and slavery. For example, there was a long-running argument between Sweden and Finland over the Åland Islands that had the two nations on the brink of war by 1920. Britain asked the League to intervene, and the agreement forged by the League in that dispute (that the islands would remain under Finnish control, but demilitarized) remains in force to this day. It was also successful in halting the use of slave labor on Libyan rubber plantations owned by Firestone. TheOtherWiki has more information.

The ideas behind the League represented a fundamental shift in thought from the preceding hundred years; rather than each nation pursuing their own national interests at the expense of others, the League brought in the concept of international co-operation. The League lacked its own armed force and so depended on the victorious Great Powers of the Great War: Great Britain, France, Italy & Japan[[labelnote:*]]America didn't join because of domestic politics. Naturally, this led to problems later on.[[/labelnote]] to enforce its resolutions via military or economic pressure.