The Legaue of Nations was created January 10th, 1920. It was established in the Versailles treay. The idea for a League of Nations, however, came from Woodrow Wilson, in his Fourteen Points speech. However, after the peace conference, the USA refused to ratify the Versailles treaty. This made it so the US didn’t join the League of Nations, which greatly hurt it. Although it continued, it never had the power it would have had with the USA in it. The original secratary-general of the league was Eric Drummond, who wanted to firmly establish the league. He build the foundation of the league with the covenant of the league in the Versailles Treaty. It was a bicameral house structure, with a judicial and executive branch. The league had many weakness, which included a unanoumous majority for deciding issues and had no actually power over nations, it could just warn and threaten them. Although it promoted collective security, it could not put men in uniform to fight. Their were two views of the league’s functions by France and Britian, two of the most involved nations. Foremost, France thought that the leauge should protect the world against another Germany, and to keep the real Germany down and out. Also, France wanted the league to aid with it’s own country. On the other hand, Britain thought that the League of Nations should only cooperate with other nations, and have no power on it’s own to which to use for war or bans on trade. Later, however, Gilbert Murray helped encourage all of the league’s covenant, which give it many extra powers beyond cooperative and voluntary aid. The league came upon many disputes in the 1930’s, and that helped to end the league. The governments involved in the league now inluded Communism, capitolism, facism, and nazism. Many conflicting views arose, but most nations didn’t care abut the league because of domestic depressions. By 1931, Japan had taken over Manchuria. The league only sent over a commission to look inot the matter. Japan then left the league, and nothing could be done. By 1933, Hitler ended all German relations with the league, and began a program which built more weapons for the Germans right after the World Disarmented Conference. A few years of prosperty in the league were 1934-5. The Soviet Union joined the league, and it had more support than ever. In 1935, though, Italy invaded North Africa, and that basically destroyed the league because of the conflicting view points mentioned above. A Hoara-Laval pact was reached for Italy for there hunger for land, but it was put to shame in Britian and France, and had to be rejected. This then allowed Italy to take parts of Northern Africa. After this, the League of Nations may not have existed for all practical matters.
