The League of Nations was created by the Paris peace settlement, and its Covenant formed part of the Treaty of Versailles. It began work in 1920 with its headquarters in Geneva. This lesson covers how it was organised and what its record shows.
It belongs to Core option B study pathways. It follows from the Versailles unit.
How was the League organised?
- The Assembly: met once a year, with each member state having one vote.
- The Council: a smaller body with permanent and elected members, meeting more often. Major decisions needed agreement from all of its members, which made decisive action hard to achieve.
- The Secretariat: administration based in Geneva.
- The Permanent Court of International Justice: a court at The Hague that gave legal opinions and judgements.
- Related bodies: such as the International Labour Organization and commissions on health and refugees.
The League had no army of its own. Its main tools were persuasion, the moral weight of its judgement, and sanctions that depended on members’ cooperation.
What did the League do?
These are documented activities, though you should check the details with your notes.
- Aaland Islands (1921): Sweden and Finland disputed them, and the League decided in favour of Finland, with protections for the islanders. Both accepted the decision.
- Upper Silesia (1921): the League divided the region between Germany and Poland after a plebiscite.
- Corfu (1923): Italy occupied the island after an Italian general was killed in Greece. The dispute was moved away from the League’s own handling, and Greece paid compensation. This is often used as an example of a large power getting a favourable outcome.
- Manchuria (1931 to 1933): the League commission led by Lord Lytton reported in 1932. Japan left the League in 1933.
- Abyssinia (1935 to 1936): the League applied limited sanctions to Italy, which completed its conquest.
Worked example: explain success and failure
Question: “The League was successful in the 1920s but not in the 1930s.” Use the evidence.
Plan. Success evidence: Aaland and Upper Silesia, where the parties were smaller states and accepted the outcome. Failure evidence: Manchuria and Abyssinia, where a large power was involved and sanctions or action were limited.
Qualification. The record in the 1920s was mixed, because Corfu shows a different pattern. The Great Depression, from 1929, also changed what members were willing to risk, so economic conditions are an additional factor. That is an interpretation, so say “this suggests”.
What mistake do students make?
Mistaken sentence: “The League failed because America did not join.”
It names one factor as the whole story. Evidence suggests several factors, including the unanimity rule, absent or departing powers and the lack of a force. The correction is “the absence of the United States was one factor, alongside…” followed by evidence for each.
Check yourself
1. Name two organs of the League and one function of each.
Show answer
For example: the Assembly, where each member had one vote; the Council, a smaller body that met more often. Others: the Secretariat (administration) and the Permanent Court of International Justice (legal opinions).
2. Give one dispute the League settled and one where it was less effective.
Show answer
Settled: Aaland Islands, 1921. Less effective: Abyssinia, 1935 to 1936, where sanctions were limited and Italy completed its conquest.
3. Why is “the Council needed unanimous agreement” a documented feature rather than an opinion?
Show answer
It describes the League’s rules, which can be checked in the Covenant and in accounts of how it worked. A claim about how much this hurt the League would be an interpretation.
Where this leads next
Use the method in sourced explanations, then continue to European diplomacy and the outbreak of war in 1939. The practice set includes League questions. For help turning this evidence into balanced answers, see our online one-to-one History tuition.