League of Nations

As World War I ground to a halt, the subsequent peace process opened the door to the establishment of a League of Nations. The horror and devastation of world war created an opportune environment for the promotion of the formation of an international organization to address the peaceful arbitration of traditionally violent economic, political, and diplomatic disputes. The failure of pre–World War I nation state alliances to resolve boundary disputes did little to promote international peace. The league represented the first permanent international organization, in modern times, committed to resolving international disputes, through a complex system of arbitration. Despite the commitment to promote permanent peace, the league faced numerous challenges and failed to prevent World War II. In part, the failure of the league was preordained by the Paris Peace Treaty. Born of war, the league structure reflected the victors, reinforced the artificial division of new territories, and exacted heavy war reparations on Germany. These decisions gave rise to extreme nationalism and to world war. As result, the league never completely succeeded in its mission to promote justice or peace. It nevertheless provided the foundation for the formation of the United Nations in 1946, and led to a worldwide commitment to promote human rights.

President Woodrow Wilson and his cabinet played a key role in the development of the League of Nations. In 1918, before the war ended and prior to U.S. involvement in World War I, Wilson articulated his vision of world peace in his January 8 14 Points Speech to Congress. In this speech he summed up the U.S. war aims, based largely on his belief in self-determination and free trade. Wilson believed that a league of nations would promote his vision of free navigation, lower trade barriers, fewer armaments, and a foundation for peaceful negotiations between nations.

The Paris Peace Conference set the stage for the development of the League of Nations. While President Wilson has been credited as the architect of the league, its formation was a result of international collaboration. In the United States, the formation of the League to Enforce Peace organized and influenced the American intellectual movement to promote a permanent league. This same group became a primary supporter of Wilson's plan for peace and endorsed the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles. After its defeat [Page 834]in Congress, this group along with many other pacifist and nonpacifist peace organizations converged to promote U.S. membership in the league and the World Court throughout the interwar period.

The five major powers, which included France, Italy, the United States, Britain, and Japan, dominated the Paris Peace Conference. In all, 32 Allied and Associated Powers, along with the Central Powers, signed the treaties. An additional 13 states—those who remained neutral during the war—were invited to join the league. Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, and Hungary signed the treaty but did not join the league immediately. Austria and Bulgaria joined in 1920, Hungary in 1922, and Germany in 1926. It is also important to note that while the United States dominated the peace process and played a significant role in the creation of the Covenant of the League, or League Charter, the U.S. Congress never ratified the peace treaty and never joined the league. Moreover, the resulting treaties and formation of the League Covenant reflected the conservative views of the victors and thereby limited access to the league power structure by lesser nations, which failed to offer nations equal status in diplomatic proceedings.

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