Essay about Birth and Demise in The League of Nations

The League of Nations was established in 1919 after the deadly and devastating conflict of World War I. The nations of the world needed a way to rebuild and regain trust in one another after this worldwide atrocity. President Woodrow Wilson believed that an international peacekeeping organization, such as the League of Nations, could achieve this monumental goal. President Wilson was convinced that the League could prevent another wWorld wWar, preserve peace, and promote total disarmament among nations. Wilson went to the Treaty of Versailles negotiations with a Fourteen Point Plan for peace, but he sacrificed almost all of his plans so that the League of Nations could be established. This organization, however, would never live up to the President’s dreams for its success. Despite Woodrow Wilson’s support for the League of Nations, it failed as a peace keeping organization because the United States did not participate, its decision making process was ineffective, and it lacked an armed force to impose its decisions.

Wilson’s fourteen points summarise the quest for international cooperation in achieving and maintaining peace. However, this can be questioned as the first paragraph also suggests a self-centred approach taken by Wilson. The speech suggests that the USA is the only ones with the capacity to achieve such peace, the programme of the world's peace, therefore, is our programme; and that programme, the only possible programme. It reflects a world view and hierarchy, suggesting one big American alliance rather than an idea of international cooperation. This is also further illustrated on in Wilson’s speech, his concern for the safety of the USA is key in the way he treats countries such as Russia and Germany, and his disagreement with some of the terms in the Treaty of Versailles. In point six of the speech when dealing with Russia it talks of securing the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world. Wilson was careful in how he achieved peace, as he wanted to maintain relationships with countries within Europe, whilst keeping USA dominance ad not upsetting France and Clemenceau who wanted harsh treatment of Germany. This is illustrated in point eight of Wilson’s fourteen points.

After losing a generation of men and experiencing the hardships of war, many peace related objectives were put into place to prevent another war so destructive and disastrous. The road to peace started with the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. United States President, Woodrow Wilson, presented a drafted series of peace proposals called the Fourteen Points. The last point addressed the possibility of having a group dedicated to peace and interactions among nations no matter the size (Macmillan). This organization would stop wars like World War I from happening so that it does not become part of the culture of the Western World yet again. While the idea of the league was originally rejected, the Treaty of Versailles, the most significant treaty to come out of WWI, established the League of Nations. Eventually, the League of Nations disbanded in five years after the start of World War II and the United Nations was formed. Newton Diehl Baker, Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of War argues that the lack of such a league to keep peace in 1914 is what threw the world into the chaos of World War (Macmillan). Even Baker did not know the ramifications the war would have due to the lack of peace structure until after the war

Wilson's peace plan, known as the Fourteen Points, introduced the idea of the League of Nations. The League of Nations would bind together all of the countries involved in order to resolve conflicts peacefully and protect independence. Wilson very much wanted the United States to be a part of the League, which would prevent a return to isolationism (Document G). Article Ten of the Treaty of Versailles outlines some of the obligations attached to being a member of the League. This article states that if any nation who is a part of the League is under attack or in danger, all other countries are mandated to come to their aid (Document E). The League of Nations, and this article in particular, caused a great deal of controversy in the U.S. Henry Cabot Lodge, a Reservationist senator, gave a speech to show his objection to the League. Lodge believed the United States should focus its efforts on self-betterment, rather than being forced to "play the part of umpire" in European affairs of no direct interest (Document D). Lodge's discontent with the circumstances that would be created by the League were also shared by the majority of senators, leading to the rejection of the Treaty of Versailles. This decision allowed the U.S. to return to its former isolated

In January 1918, Wilson made a major speech to Congress in which he laid out "Fourteen Points" that he believed would, if made the basis of a postwar peace, prevent future wars. Trade restrictions and secret alliances would be abolished, armaments would be curtailed, colonies and the national states that made up the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires would be set on the road to independence, the German-occupied portions of France and Belgium would be evacuated, the revolutionary government of Russia would be welcomed into the community of nations, and a League of Nations would be created to maintain the peace. Believing that this revolutionary program required his personal support, Wilson decided that he would lead the American peace delegation to Paris, becoming the first President ever to go to Europe while in office. Despite Wilson's best efforts, however, the Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919, departed significantly

The many nations that were part of the Allied powers met in the Palace of Versailles in France to negotiate what would happen to the nations that were part of the Axis powers, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. In the negotiations, President Wilson proposed and argued for his Fourteen Points. These points consisted of restrictions, land redistribution, and establishments that President Wilson believed would prevent war in the future. Among these points, he included the eradication of any and all economic obstructions and barriers as well as the establishment of a

They say time is a great teacher. How true. History has taught us that peace must be kept at all costs. At the end of World War 1, the common goal between the victorious nations throughout the world was to declare peace. The leading statesmen of these triumphant nations met in Paris to draw up the Treaty of Versailles, which would decide the fate of the central powers. Woodrow Wilson, the American President, created fourteen points as the basis for peace negotiations. Among these fourteen points was the most controversial and yet the most important to President Wilson, the League of Nations.

World War I was raging and despite his desire and efforts to maintain America’s neutrality, German naval actions against American ships forced Wilson to ask Congress to declare war. In his capacity as Commander in Chief, Wilson chose General John Pershing to lead the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) that deployed to Europe to fight the Germans. At the conclusion of World War I, Wilson devised his infamous Fourteen Points, which included the formation of an international League of Nations, that he envisioned would be "a general association of nations...affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike”(Wilson) and would serve as a mechanism to prevent future conflicts. His Fourteen Points were meant to be a template for world peace and clearly demonstrated the influence and important role the president of the United States has over international relations. However, Congress rejected the Treaty of Versailles discouraging European involvement; an action that revealed the power struggle between the executive and legislative branches and demonstrated that while influencing and making important decisions, the president may not always have the power to enforce them. Due to Wilson’s involvement in foreign affairs the United States emerged as a major international power and presidents

Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points speech influenced the world in the way that few speeches in history have. Wilson was the leader of the free world and felt that it was his job to provide a solution for peace. As Wilson gave his Fourteen Points, which presented a path to everlasting peace, he addressed not only his nation, but also the world. Following his speech, his policies were mimicked in in every major western power’s affairs for the remainder of the Twentieth Century. He declared his philosophies on the way to obtain global peace to the world in a speech to congress on January 8, 1918. When the war ended and the leaders of the triumphant nations met to develop peace treaties and dole out retributions, the Fourteen Points were used as a basis for these international negotiations.

Subsequent to the war, negotiations were necessary to restore peace and unity in the world. At the Paris Peace Negotiation Conference, the United States possessed a crucial position. Originally, Wilson captured the audience by putting forth his fourteen points where he announced his plan of open diplomacy, which gave all nations freedom of the seas, called for arms reduction, the removal of trade barriers, and an international commitment to national self-determination. Subsequently, Wilson advised for the formation of the League of Nations, an international Federal Trade Commission that would

He supported women’s suffrage and social programs, and he had excellent ideas for America’s future. In this way, Wilson was a success. However, his skill with his own nation is an underscore to his failure with the nations of the world. Initially, for example, Wilson objected to American entrance into WWI; he pushed the proposal away until it was unsafe to continue to do ignore it. Only when the American people felt legitimately threatened did he ask Congress to enter the war. To his credit, however, once Wilson committed to interventionism, he did not shy back. Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which aimed to create global unity with the new League of Nations, were his children. He refused to compromise on any of the disputed sections, despite threats from the legislature to fail the bill. Perhaps Wilson’s initial lethargy was due to some vision of his future, as the grand ideas that were so successful stateside failed to translate into the global arena. His idealism and intellectualism, seemingly advantageous traits, contributed to his ultimate legacy as an unsuccessful president.

Since America joined World War I near the end and did not experience as much loss and damage, Great Britain and France assumed more power to voice their opinions. Woodrow Wilson proposed that instead of focusing on harshly punishing Germany as Lloyd George and George Clemenceau wanted, they focus on creating a better and more peaceful world for all the countries involved in the war. If the treaty had been the version Wilson envisioned, it could’ve entirely changed what happened in the future. This being said, Wilson’s Fourteen Points would have been a much more fair and just treaty, if only his opinions had been

In this essay, I am going to look at the successes and failures of the League of Nations (LofN) in its struggle for peace throughout the 1920’s. The LofN was the ‘brain child’ of American president Woodrow Wilson. The four other main powers (Britain, France, Japan and Italy) joined along with approximately 60 other countries from around the world. The U.S.A then abandoned its ‘child’ as to social and economic unrest led to a more isolationist foreign policy. Yet the other four main countries continued to support the LofN and formed the council, consisting to the ‘most powerful countries’. The LofN was set up to enforce peace in Europe and the world. It created various

11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 the Treaty of Versailles is signed; the “War to End All Wars” is officially over. World War 1 officially ends with combined casualties estimated at thirty seven million people. World War 1 was the most destructive war the world had ever seen up to that point. It left such a bad taste for war that most nations in the world were willing to go to great lengths to avoid another conflict like this one. President Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points called for a “general association of nations…formed on the basis of covenants designed to create mutual guarantees of the political independence and territorial integrity of States, large and small equally.” With that Idea in mind the League of Nations was formed in

"The League of Nations was doomed To failure from the start" Adam Jenner Many may believe that the League of Nations was doomed to failure as soon as the doors of their Geneva headquarters were opened; many may say that it was built on unstable foundations; that the very idea of it was a grave misjudgment by the powers that were. Indeed it is true that the League of Nations, when it was set up was marred with many fundamental flaws. The League of Nations was formed after the end of the First World War. It was an idea that President Wilson introduced as an international police force to maintain peace and to ensure the devastating atrocities like the First World War ever happening again. The principle mission of the League of Nations was to maintain World Peace. Their failure as the international peacekeeping organization to maintain world peace brought the outbreak of Second World War. Their failure in policing and preventing peace in settling disputes throughout Europe, erupted into the most devastating war ever. Through my analysis of the failures of the League of Nations to maintain world peace, my arguments will demonstrate the understandings of the reasons and events that created the most devastating environment for the Second World War.