1. Name: __________________________ ( ) Date: __________________
Class: ________________
Chapter 1: Impact of World War One in Europe, Part IV
(The League of Nations:Weaknesses)
Topic Inquiry Question: “What was the main reason for the weakness of the LON?”
Two Crises in the 1930s
1) Manchuria, 1931
- Manchuria invaded by Japan in 1931
- Reasons:
o Resources like minerals, timber
o Living space
 LON’s response
o 1932: Commission led by Lord Lytton sent to investigate
 Demanded that Japan leave Manchuria
 Special LON Assembly agreed with Lytton and condemned Japanese
actions
 Outcome
o Japan remained in Manchuria and walked out of the LON in 1933
 Impact?
2) Abyssinia, 1935-6
- Mussolini prepared to invade Abyssinia – accused Abyssinians of aggression at Wal-
Wal  clashes!!
- Reasons:
o To restore pride and glory to Italy
o To avenge 1896 defeat at Battle of Adwa
- Emperor Haile Selassie asked LON to arbitrate
 LON’s response
o Imposed partial trade sanctions – banned arms sales – did not include materials
such as oil
o Britain, a LON member, kept the Suez Canal open to the Italians
o LON Commission proposed giving up part of Abyssinia to Italy
 Outcome
o Italy launched full-scale invasion of Abyssinia in October 1935
o British and French had secret negotiations with Italy – wanted to give Italy two
huge areas in Abyssinia in order to stop the war
 Plan failed but what did it revealto us?
o By May 1936, Italy had conquered Abyssinia
 1937: Italy leaves LON

2. Weaknessesofthe LON
Why was the LON unable to maintain world peace in the 1920s and 1930s?
 Structural Weaknesses
o The Secretariat was understaffed and disorganised
o Roles of the Assembly and Council were not clearly defined – Impact?
o Issue of Unanimity
 Any action required a unanimous vote by the Council and a two-thirds majority
vote in the Assembly
 Impact on decision-making?
# The various parts of the League didn’t work well together  hard to take effective action!
 Lack of Authority
Activity 1: Reading Political Cartoons
Cartoon Questions
Moral Suasion. The Rabbit. "My
offensive equipment being practically
nil, it remains for me to fascinate him
with the power of my eye."
Cartoon from Punch magazine,
London, England, July 28th 1920
What do you see in this cartoon (details)?
What do they represent (symbols)?
What is the message of the cartoon?
o No Military Power
 Could not coerce aggressor nations
 Had to army of its own to enforce military sanctions
o No Economic Power
 Trade sanctions didn’t work – not binding on LON members, e.g. Abyssinian
Crisis

3.  Aggressor nation could simply trade with non-LON members
 Member nations were more concerned with own economic and political interests,
than with resolving conflicts
 Unwilling to impose sanctions – why?
o Legacy of Treaty of Versailles (TOV)
 LON closely linked to TOV – TOV was unpopular and LON was affected by this
unpopularity
 LON lost credibility when it proved ineffective in stopping nations such as
Germany, Italy and Japan from their expansionist goals
# The lack of authority resulting fromthe LON’s lack of military and economic power,together with
its close association to the TOV, made it difficult forit to take effective action against aggressor
nations.
 Membership Issues
Cartoon Questions
Cartoon by Leonard Raven-Hill
Cartoon from Punch magazine, London,England,
December 10th
1919
What do you see in this cartoon (details)?
What do they represent (symbols)?
What is the message of the cartoon?
o Absence of the USA
 LON deprived of a powerful member – USA the world’s largest economy
 LON lacked necessary military and economic support from the USA to enforce
its rulings
o Absence of others

4.  Germany – blamed for WWI - 1926
 Soviet Union – viewed with suspicion - 1934
# Absence of 3 major powers weakened the LON as it needed their support to enforce its sanctions
 Post-war Attitudes of Major Powers
Cartoon Questions
‘Let SamDo It’
Cartoon from New York American, 1931
What do you see in this cartoon (details)?
What do they represent (symbols)?
What is the message of the cartoon?
o The post-war attitudes of the major powers affected their willingness to help maintain world
peace and security
o As most of the League’s members had suffered from World War I, they did not have enough
military power to deal with military threats from a powerful country.
 Only the British and French military forces would have been strong enough to handle
a military threat, but both were unwilling to do so. Instead, they chose a policy of
appeasement.
o Furthermore, while the League aimed to achieve disarmament, its members were unwilling to
disarm as they put their own interests and concerns before those of the League. This led to
feelings of distrust between the countries, which further weakened the League.
# None of the majorpowersin the LON were willing to ensure that the LON was able to enforce its
decisions  destroyed credibility of the LON