The League of Nations

1
The League of Nations

• Were there weaknesses in the Leagues
  organisation?

2
The optimist point of view in 1920s

• We think the League of Nations will succeed
  because of
• Its determined ideas and aims
• Its aims are really convincing because we all
  want, for example, the improvement of the living
  and working conditions all around the world, or
  to encourage countries to co-opeate, especially
  in business and trade. Every country will
  co-operate.

3
Membership of the League

• France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Germany, USSR
  (most important) and more than 50 other
  countries.
• The USA never joined because of internal
  problems and changes in their country.
• Britain and France were the most important
  countries that joined the League. Any decision or
  action needed their support because of the power
  they had there over the other countries and
  because they were the ones that first joined the
  League of Nations after the Treaty of Versailles.

4
The main bodies inside the League and what they
could do within it.
5
The secretariat

• kept records of League meetings and prepared
  reports. They were in charge of covering areas
  such as health, disarmament and economic matters.

6
The Council

• Could decide which country was the aggressor and
  which country was to blame. Also they were in
  charge of solving the problems between countries.
  They could refuse to trade with the aggressor in
  a dispute.

7
The Assembly

• Could recommend action to the council and vote
  on
• Admitting new members to the League
• Appointing temporary members of the Council
• The budget of the League
• Other ideas put foward the Council

8
The permanent Court of International Justice

• If it was asked, the Court would give a decision
  and opinion on a dispute between two countries.
• It gave legal advice to the Assembly of the
  Council.

9
The International Labour Organisation (ILO)

• They were in charge of improving the conditions
  of working people throughout the world.

10
The League of Nations Commissions

• It was divided into 4 smaller groups
• The Mandates Commissions It made sure they
  didint focus only on their own interests
• The Refugees Committee This helped to return the
  people who had escaped from their own country
  because of the war

11

• The Slavery Commission This worked to abolish
  slavery all around the world
• The Health Committee It dealed with the problem
  of dangerous diseases and to aducate people about
  health and sanitation

12
The decisions (each body)

• The assembly The decisions had to be agreed by
  all its members
• The permanent Court of International Justice the
  Court would give a decision on a border dispute
  between two countries.

13

• The Secretariat marked decisions about health,
  disarmament and economic matters in the world.
• The League of Nations Commissions It marked
  decisions with disputes between its members

14
How the League will enforce its decisions

• Refugees It got refugees and form prisioners of
  war back to their homelands
• Working Conditions It introduced a resolution
  for a maximum 48 hour-week, and an eight-hour
  day.
• Health It worked to defeat lepra, mosquitoes,
  yellow fever and cases of malaria.

15

• Transport It recommended to mark shipping lanes
  and produce an international highway code for
  rood users.
• Social Problems It tried to reduce and abolish
  drug trade (illegal) and reduce the death rate
  among the African workers. It tried to remove
  social injustice, and it provide information on
  problems such as drug trafficking, prostitution
  and slavery

16
Cartoons

• Our idea was to talk with an optimist point of
  view about the League of Nations but, as we all
  know, it was weak and it failed and thats shown
  in the following cartoons.

17
This cartoon addresses the doubts expressed by
critics about nations cooperating in the League
of Nations.
18
This cartoon shows how weak the League of Nations
was. It is represented with a rabbit which, next
to the big snake, is very very weak.
19

• Some critics of the League of Nations declared
  that its political mechanisms would not fit into
  the United States governing principles. If you
  look carefully, both pieces cant get together
  and make one piece.