League of Nations facts for kids

Quick facts for kids League of Nations Société des Nations  (French)
1920–1946
Semi-official flag (1939–41)
Headquarters of League of Nations at Geneva, Switzerland
Status	Intergovernmental organisation
Capital	Geneva, Switzerland
Administrative center	Geneva, Switzerland
Common languages	French and English
Secretary‑General
• 1920–33	Sir Eric Drummond
• 1933–40	Joseph Avenol
• 1940–46	Seán Lester
Deputy Secretary-General
• 1919–23	Jean Monnet
• 1923–33	Joseph Avenol
• 1937–40	Seán Lester
Historical era	Interwar period
• Treaty of Versailles	10 January 1920
• First meeting	16 January 1920
• Dissolved	20 April 1946
Succeeded by United Nations
The headquarters were based from 1 November 1920 in the Palais Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland, and from 17 February 1936 in the purpose built Palace of Nations also in Geneva.

The League of Nations (French: La Société des Nations) was the predecessor to the United Nations. The League was founded in 1920, after World War I, but failed to maintain peace during World War II. The League had a Council of the great powers and an Assembly of all the member countries.

The League of Nations was thought up by Woodrow Wilson, the American President during the First World War. It was to be a group of nations that worked together to keep peace. One of the reasons for its downfall was that, after a vote, the American public refused to join. The League did not have the power it needed to enforce any of the rules that made it up. This later proved to be a fatal flaw in the League's structure.

Another flaw in the League was that it was not representative enough: at any point there were no more than 65 members part of the league and the interests of the superior nations often exceeded those of more limited members.

The League also had no troops of its own, and decisions it made were often slow. For example, when the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria (North-East China) in 1931, the League took a whole year to make a decision. When it came, Japan ignored it. When Italy invaded Abyssinia in 1935, the League condemned it more quickly but Italy merely quit the League and continued its conquest. After these disasters the League was thought to be weak and powerless and stopped operations in 1939.

The League did not fail completely: it had prevented a few conflicts in Europe in the 1920s and worked hard to relieve various public health and social problems around the world.

In 1946, the already inactive League of Nations formally ended. The United Nations was established, and still today does many of the same things the League of Nations did.

United States

President Woodrow Wilson arranged a plan for a "government of governments", or rather an international peacekeeping force. The idea of his plan was to settle problems between nations peacefully. Wilson tried to persuade the international community that the league would discourage aggression and tackle the underlying problems that often lead to war, such as poverty. Wilson was however unable to convince the American public into supporting the League. The United States did not want to be part of Wilson’s approach for three reasons:

First, the United States had many German immigrants who hated the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles blamed Germany and its allies for the war and said they must pay heavy war reparations. To join The League of Nations, a country had to agree and accept the Treaty of Versailles. German Americans did not accept this.

Second, Americans did not want to risk more Americans dying in a European war, as they had in World War I. They also felt that it would result in pointless actions such as sending soldiers all around the globe to sort out small disputes. This attitude was called isolationism. Most Americans felt it would be best to avoid European and British affairs completely.

Third, the granting of women's voting rights in the United States brought a huge new voting block that overwhelmingly desired to turn inward towards 'isolation'.

Members

1920

These countries joined League of Nations in 1920:

• Argentina (left in 1921 and joined again in 1933)
• Australia
• Belgium
• Bolivia
• Brazil (left the organization in 1926)
• British Empire

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Dominion of Canada, Commonwealth of Australia, Federation of New Zealand, Union of South Africa

• Canada
• Chile (left in 1938)
• China
• Colombia
• Cuba
• Czechoslovakia (left in 1939)
• Denmark (left in 1940)
• El Salvador (left in 1937)
• France
• Greece
•  Guatemala (left in 1936)
•  Haiti (left in 1942)
•  Honduras (left in 1936)
• India
• Italy
• Japan
•  Liberia
•  Netherlands
•  Nicaragua (left in 1936)
•  Norway
•  Panama
•  Paraguay (left in 1935)
•  Persia
•  Peru (left in 1939)
•  Poland
•  Portugal
•  Romania (left in 1940)
•  Siam
•  Spain (left in 1939)
•  Sweden
•  Switzerland
•  Uruguay
•  Venezuela

Images for kids

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  The 1864 Geneva Convention, one of the earliest formulations of international law

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  The League to Enforce Peace published this full-page promotion in The New York Times on Christmas Day 1918. It resolved that the League "should ensure peace by eliminating causes of dissension, by deciding controversies by peaceable means, and by uniting the potential force of all the members as a standing menace against any nation that seeks to upset the peace of the world".

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  On his December 1918 trip to Europe, Woodrow Wilson gave speeches that "reaffirmed that the making of peace and the creation of a League of Nations must be accomplished as one single objective".

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  In 1924, the headquarters of the League was named "Palais Wilson", after Woodrow Wilson, who was credited as the "Founder of the League of Nations"

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  Palace of Nations, Geneva, the League's headquarters from 1936 until its dissolution in 1946

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  Child labour in a coal mine, United States, c. 1912

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  Child labour in Kamerun in 1919

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  A sample Nansen passport

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  A map of the world in 1920–45, which shows the League of Nations members during its history

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  Chinese delegate addresses the League of Nations concerning the Manchurian Crisis in 1932.

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  Emperor Haile Selassie I going into exile in Bath, England via Jerusalem

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  League of Nations archives, Geneva.