Creation of the League of Nations (AQA GCSE History)

What caused the creation of the League of Nations? - Summary

One of the key factors leading to the creation of the League of Nations was President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points. This was a peace plan he proposed during the First World War. Wilson's Fourteen Points included the idea of a League of Nations, where countries could come together to discuss and resolve conflicts peacefully. He believed an international organisation was essential for maintaining world peace and preventing another devastating war.

Another major reason for the creation of the League of Nations was the impact of the First World War itself. The war caused significant destruction and loss of life, leaving many people determined to find a way to ensure that such a tragedy would never happen again. Wilson persuaded those in the Paris Peace Conference to create a system that would help countries settle their disputes without resorting to violence. The League of Nations was seen as a solution to promote diplomacy and cooperation among nations.

A third reason for the creation of the League of Nations was the failure of previous diplomatic efforts to prevent the outbreak of war. Before the First World War, Europe had a complex system of alliances that were supposed to maintain a balance of power and deter conflicts. However, these alliances contributed to the escalation of tension in Europe. Minor conflicts drew countries into larger wars due to their obligations to support their allies. The leaders who established the League of Nations wanted to replace this flawed system. They wanted to encourage open communication, collective security and mutual cooperation to address international issues more effectively.

Aims of the League of Nations

• US President Woodrow Wilson had clear aims for the League of Nations

• The League of Nations aimed:

  • To solve disputes that could cause armed conflict

  • To achieve world disarmament

  • To encourage nations to trade freely with each other

  • To improve the standard of living across the world

• Some of these aims were more important than others after the Versailles Settlement

  • There were several border disputes after the Versailles Settlement

    • The end of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires caused the formation of new countries like Poland

    • These new countries took land away from previously powerful countries like Germany and Austria

  • Where the Allies drew new boundaries caused international tensions

    • Conflicts occurred in borderlands

    • Some countries attempted to invade other countries for land 

• To achieve these aims, world leaders gave the League of Nations powers

  • Article 10 of the Covenant insisted on ‘collective security’. This meant that:

    • If an aggressive country attacked one League member, it was regarded as an attack on all members of the League 

    • The League of Nations could create a combined League army to defend the country from the aggressor

  • Collective security aims to:

    • Make member countries feel safer

    • Deter war

Methods of peacekeeping

• Apart from collective security, the League of Nations had a variety of methods that they could use. These were:

  • Moral condemnation: Use their influence to disapprove of an action

  • Trade sanctions: Impose trade boycotts on aggressive countries

  • Compensation: Money paid to the innocent country from the aggressor as an apology for their actions

  • Use the Conference of Ambassadors: An organisation that oversaw the Versailles Settlement. It had ambassadors from Britain, France and Japan that worked with the League to resolve disputes

  • Plebiscites: The population of a contested region decides who governs it

  • Do nothing: The League did not interfere with some disputes. For example, the French invasion of the Ruhr