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Essay on The Consequences of the Failure of the League in the 1930s

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The Consequences of the Failure of the League in the 1930s The league was, overall, a failure. There were numerous reasons for why the league failed in the 1930s. These included the self-interest of leading members, economic sanctions did not work, America and other important countries were absent, the league had to cope with a lack of troops, the treaties it had to uphold were seen as unfair and also, the decisions that the league made were slow. The first major test for the League came when the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931. Japan, like many other countries around the world, was suffering due to the Depression caused by the Wall Street Crash in America. Japan was also a permanent member of …show more content…

It was obvious who was the aggressor. China had appealed to the league but had waited a long frustrating period of a full year to receive a response. The league was reluctant to take any action against Japan and forbid them to continue invading. During this period the league was looking even worse as it went on. The more influential members of the league saw how they could manipulate the system and use their position in the league to their advantage. In February 1933, instead of withdrawing, Japan announced that they would invade more of China. The only countries that had a definite force to beat the Japanese were the USSR and USA. Yet they weren't even members. Countries such as Britain and France thought only of their own self-interest by keeping peace with these growing powers and the League would also make the excuse that Manchuria was too far away for action to be taken. The league's report was approved by 42 votes against Japan's single vote. Yet the league took no action, as they were afraid of losing a powerful member as well as the fact that Britain and France remained reluctant to use military force as they were looking out for themselves and their self-interest was prioritised above the requirements of League of Nation's work. On 27 Match 1933, Japan left the League and the

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