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Weaknesses of the League of Nations (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History): Revision Note

Exam code: 0470 & 0977

Zoe Wade

Written by: Zoe Wade

Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett

Updated on

The Issues of Membership

  • The League of Nations went against Wilson’s vision

    • Wilson wanted all nations to become members of the League

    • He wanted the League to work together to improve the world

Who Could Become Members of the League of Nations?

A flowchart titled "Limitations of the League of Nations – Membership" in a red central box. Above this are three grey boxes showing countries that did not join: The USA: Senate blocked the bill to join Germany: The Treaty of Versailles stated it could not join The Soviet Union: Not allowed to join due to its communist beliefs An orange box below those states: The League did not contain key countries as members Below the red central box is a beige box: Britain and France Beneath that, grey boxes explain limitations of Britain and France: The most powerful members of the League Both countries had been weakened by the First World War Both countries had other priorities Subpoints: France – the threat of Germany and Britain – its empire To the right are two additional grey boxes: Stopped using the League Thought that the League was weak without the USA
A concept map showing the issues with the League of Nations’ membership in 1920

What Stopped the USA from Joining the League of Nations?

  • The idea of the League of Nations was unpopular in the US

    • Many US citizens did not want the USA to join the First World War

    • US politicians were isolationists

      • They believed that the League would drag them into European conflicts

  • Americans did not want to help European nations:

    • In a war that caused casualties like the First World War

    • Maintain their empires

      • Many Americans were against the idea of empires (anti-imperialist)

  • Some Americans had German ancestry

    • There was mass emigration from Europe to the US before 1914

    • German immigrants felt sorry for Germany after the Treaty of Versailles

      • By supporting the League of Nations, Americans would be condoning the treaty

  • US businesses feared the League’s impact on trade

    • If the League placed sanctions on the USA, it would affect their ability to export

  • Wilson became too ill to run for re-election in 1920

    • Wilson undertook a 27-day train journey to win public support for the Versailles Settlement and the League of Nations

    • When he returned to Washington, he suffered a stroke

  • The Republican candidate, Warren Harding, campaigned aggressively against the League of Nations

    • The Senate voted twice on the Treaty of Versailles and US membership to the League of Nations between November 1919 and March 1920

    • Wilson failed both times to get the Senate’s ratification of the bill 

    • The public elected Harding as president in 1921

Political cartoon depicting soldiers boarding a ship via a gangway, supervised by a man dressed as Uncle Sam, with a sign saying, "Send me over a new army!"
A print created by Winsor Mccay in c.1920. It shows Uncle Sam (a symbol of the USA) watching wounded and dead soldiers come off a ship. John Bull (a symbol of the UK) is asking for more soldiers Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
An angel labelled "Peace" stands holding a strap in a subway car while three seated men in suits labelled "Boom," "Booze," and "Johnson" read newspapers.
A cartoon by Rollin Kirby c.1920. It shows the figure of Peace being blocked from sitting by Senators Borah, Lodge and Johnson. The cartoon refers to the successful efforts of the Republican isolationists to block Senate ratification of the League of Nations

The Structure of the League of Nations

  • Contemporary critics argued that the structure of the League was its biggest weakness

A flowchart showing the structure of the League of Nations. At the top: Assembly (purple box, left): Each of the 42 founding members had one representative Admitted new members Policies needed full agreement Met once a year Council (purple box, right): Smaller group Met five times a year Could sanction, condemn, or use military force against aggressive countries In the centre: Secretariat (light blue box): Kept records Managed all other League of Nations organisations Below the Secretariat: International Labour Organisation (ILO) (purple box, far left): Improved working conditions Worked with governments, businesses, and workers Agencies (central purple box): Included the Mandates Commissions, Refugees Committee, Slavery Commission, and Health Committee Aimed to solve problems caused by WWI and the peace treaties Permanent Court of Justice (purple box, far right): Based in The Hague (Netherlands) Settled legal disputes Advised the Council on legal matters Green arrows link the structure, showing relationships between the Assembly, Council, Secretariat, and committees.
A diagram showing the roles of the different bodies within the League of Nations

Strengths and Weaknesses of the League’s Structure

Body

Strengths

Weaknesses

Assembly

All members had one vote. This avoided the issue of one country dominating the assembly

  • Only met once a year

  • All members had to agree on actions, making decision-making slow

Council

Met five times a year

They had three options for response:

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

  • Trade sanctions: Impose trade boycotts on aggressive countries

  • Military force: Raise an army from membership countries

Made quicker decisions than the Assembly

  • As permanent members, Britain, France, Japan and Italy used their veto powers

  • Powerful members blocked the actions of other members

  • Without the power of the USA, the Council’s decisions were weak

Secretariat

Talented experts in multiple fields worked together in the Secretariat

Expensive

Grew too large as the League expanded its role

Permanent Court of International Justice

Well-respected in multiple countries

Member states contributed legal experts to this body

Could not enforce its judgements

Worked Example

What methods could the League of Nations use to deal with international disputes

4 marks

Answers:

The Council could use verbal moral disapproval for less serious actions (1). The League could bring the two sides together for talks (1). If a permanent member had an issue with another member, it could veto its decisions in the Council (1). In serious cases, the League could ask its members to contribute to an army and use force to resolve a dispute (1).

Examiner Tips and Tricks

This style of question does not require you to explain your answer. The Cambridge IGCSE gives you a point for each relevant piece of information that you write. Therefore, do not spend any additional time trying to describe or explain each reason.

Why was the League's Failure Inevitable?

  • The absence of the USA weakened the League

    • The League did not have one of the most powerful countries in the world as a member

    • The USA could ignore any economic sanctions or military decisions made by the Council

  • World leaders had different ideas about what the role of the League was

    • Wilson believed that the League:

      • Would work like an international parliament

      • Should prioritise solving world issues rather than national issues

    • Lloyd George (British Prime Minister) believed that the League:

      • Should only meet in emergencies

      • Could help Britain build its empire using mandates

    • Clemenceau (French Prime Minister) believed that the League:

      • Should protect France from invasion

      • Should have a large army

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    Author
    Reviewer
    Zoe Wade

    Author: Zoe Wade

    Expertise: History Content Creator

    Zoe has worked in education for 10 years as a teaching assistant and a teacher. This has given her an in-depth perspective on how to support all learners to achieve to the best of their ability. She has been the Lead of Key Stage 4 History, showing her expertise in the Edexcel GCSE syllabus and how best to revise. Ever since she was a child, Zoe has been passionate about history. She believes now, more than ever, the study of history is vital to explaining the ever-changing world around us. Zoe’s focus is to create accessible content that breaks down key historical concepts and themes to achieve GCSE success.

    Bridgette Barrett

    Reviewer: Bridgette Barrett

    Expertise: Geography, History, Religious Studies & Environmental Studies Subject Lead

    After graduating with a degree in Geography, Bridgette completed a PGCE over 30 years ago. She later gained an MA Learning, Technology and Education from the University of Nottingham focussing on online learning. At a time when the study of geography has never been more important, Bridgette is passionate about creating content which supports students in achieving their potential in geography and builds their confidence.