In 1919, World War I's victors, which included Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States, drew up a covenant. Its purpose was to put an end to the prevalent practice of that day, whereby nations formed patchworks of alliances founded upon balance-of-power principles, in the interest of self-protection. Instead, a worldwide organization would be established, which could collectively guarantee the individual security of each of its members. The name given to the embodiment of this noble undertaking was the "League of Nations."
This League was conceived in large part by American President Woodrow Wilson, whose "Fourteen Points" comprised the guiding philosophy behind its anticipated functioning. These Fourteen Points consisted of:
1. An end to private agreements between nations.
2. Worldwide freedom of navigation.
3. Removal of economic barriers among member nations.
4. Reductio0n by each nation of its armaments to only such level as should be necessary for its domestic safety.
5. Adjustment of colonial claims with a view as well to the interests of the peoples of said colonies.
6. Evacuation of all Russian territory; and a welcome of Russia into the "society of free nations...."
7. Evacuation and restoration of Belgium.
8. Restoration to France of invaded lands.
9. A clear readjustment of the Italian frontier.
10. Autonomous development for the peoples of Austria-Hungary.
11. Evacuation of Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro; as well as political and economic independence and territorial integrity for all Balkan States.
12. Sovereignty for the Turkish portion of the Ottoman Empire; and opportunity for autonomous development for all other peoples who had been under Turkish rule.
13. Establishment of an independent Polish state.
14. Formation of an association of nations for the purpose of affording guaranteed independence and integrity to all nations.
The primary rationale underlying the League's potential benefits lay in the principle that all member nations--including the most powerful--would come to the aid of any member who was attacked.
Officially commencing activities at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1920, the League's membership numbered forty two countries. The United States was not among them; for in March of that year the U.S. Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles, containing provisions ending the war, and making the United States a member of the League. The basic reason was discomfort with the idea of putting national defense policy into the hands of an international organization. Within a few years following the War, most Americans had come to a determination that there was no further need for this country to concern itself with conflicts abroad. And so, the United States never became a member.
Notwithstanding, the League did continue to grow; and by 1932, its roster had grown to fifty six nations. It ceased to function in 1939, after World War II had begun; and it was formally dissolved in 1946, when it was officially replaced by the United Nations.
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In retrospect, it appears that the League of Nations could have made the world a better and more peaceful place, had it been more appropriately organized, and had its principles been more truly and constantly supported by all of its members. In his Fourteen Points, Wilson had particularly stressed the need for an international political organization to prevent war. He envisioned a permanent organ for all nations to meet, negotiate, and settle disputes, ending forever the need to resort to warfare.
Of similar mind with Wilson, French economist and administrator Jean Monnet was also a firm believer in improving society by means of international cooperation, including meetings and discussions in the interest of preserving tranquility, and collective action on the part of all peace-loving nations and peoples to implement determinations thus derived.
However, in actuality, as discussions and negotiations dragged on following this tragic war, past and present secret agreements among the participants around the green table, concerning spoils within Europe, Asia, and Africa, made for but a tenuous armistice, and an ominous future. Wilson and Monnet seemed to be among the small minority of statesmen who recognized the need to curb and control "anarchic nationalism" in order to prevent future outbreaks of hostility. This is what the League of Nations was supposed to accomplish; but numerous others among the participants appeared oblivious to the fact that deterrence of future violence was a foremost purpose of the talks.
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During the course of its short and mostly unsuccessful life, the League was responsible for bringing about a limited amount of benefit to the world. A primary and worthy early goal was the destruction of the then-remaining weapons of war. Whether, and the degree to which, this was accomplished is the sort of question that defies precise answer, even to this day. But it seems likely that the lingering fear of its members, during this postwar period, of another invasion being launched upon their respective lands, limited resolve concerning arms reduction.
In 1925, the League imposed a financial indemnity upon Greece as punishment for its invasion of Bulgaria. This accomplishment represented a minor, but for the time exemplary, illustration of the process of preventing war by means of mediation.
Other somewhat more salutory League efforts during this period included diminishing the flow of illegal drugs, improving child welfare and health conditions worldwide, and increasing international trade. The organization can also be credited with containing, within its very Covenant, the first international charter for the rights of labor.
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