Historical sources on the League of Nations

“XIV. A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.” 

Contextual information:

Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He delivered this address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on 8 January 1918, outlining fourteen principles that he believed should form the basis for peace negotiations to end the First World War. The fourteenth and final point called for the creation of an international organisation that would become the League of Nations. 

Bibliographical reference:

Wilson, W. (1918). President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points [Address to a joint session of Congress, January 8, 1918]. 

Copyright: This is a work of the United States Government (presidential address to Congress) and is in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. 

Extract A

“Let us sweep aside all this language of jealousy. Let us be big enough to know the facts and to welcome the facts, because the facts are based upon the principle that America has always fought for, namely, the equality of self-governing peoples, whether they were big or little—not counting men, but counting rights, not counting representation, but counting the purpose of that representation. When you hear an opinion quoted you do not count the number of persons who hold it; you ask, ‘Who said that?’ You weigh opinions, you do not count them, and the beauty of all democracies is that every voice can be heard, every voice can have its effect, every voice can contribute to the general judgment that is finally arrived at. That is the object of democracy. Let us accept what America has always fought for, and accept it with pride that America showed the way and made the proposal. I do not mean that America made the proposal in this particular instance; I mean that the principle was an American principle, proposed by America.” 

Extract B

“But, you will say, ‘What is the second sentence of article 10? That is what gives very disturbing thoughts.’ The second sentence is that the council of the league shall advise what steps, if any, are necessary to carry out the guaranty of the first sentence, namely, that the members will respect and preserve the territorial integrity and political independence of the other members. I do not know any other meaning for the word ‘advise’ except ‘advise.’ The council advises, and it cannot advise without the vote of the United States. Why gentlemen should fear that the Congress of the United States would be advised to do something that it did not want to do I frankly cannot imagine, because they cannot even be advised to do anything unless their own representative has participated in the advice. It may be that that will impair somewhat the vigor of the league, but, nevertheless, the fact is so, that we are not obliged to take any advice except our own, which to any man who wants to go his own course is a very satisfactory state of affairs.” 

Contextual information:

Wilson delivered this speech at the Pueblo Memorial Hall in Pueblo, Colorado, on 25 September 1919 as part of a national speaking tour to build public support for American ratification of the Treaty of Versailles and membership in the League of Nations. It was his final public address before suffering a severe stroke on 2 October 1919 that left him partially incapacitated for the remainder of his presidency. 

Bibliographical reference:

Wilson, W. (1919). The Pueblo Speech [Address at Pueblo, Colorado, September 25, 1919]. In Addresses of President Wilson: Addresses delivered by President Wilson on his western tour, September 4 to September 25, 1919 (S. Doc. No. 120, 66th Cong., 1st Sess.). Government Printing Office. 

Copyright: This is a United States Government publication (Senate Document No. 120, Government Printing Office, 1919) and is in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. 

Extract A (Preamble)

“THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, In order to promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace and security by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war, by the prescription of open, just and honourable relations between nations, by the firm establishment of the understandings of international law as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another, Agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations.” 

Extract B (Article 7)

“The Seat of the League is established at Geneva. The Council may at any time decide that the Seat of the League shall be established elsewhere. All positions under or in connection with the League, including the Secretariat, shall be open equally to men and women. Representatives of the Members of the League and officials of the League when engaged on the business of the League shall enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities. The buildings and other property occupied by the League or its officials or by Representatives attending its meetings shall be inviolable.” 

Extract C (Article 10)

“The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled.” 

Extract D (Article 11)

“Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any of the Members of the League or not, is hereby declared a matter of concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations. In case any such emergency should arise the Secretary General shall on the request of any Member of the League forthwith summon a meeting of the Council. It is also declared to be the friendly right of each Member of the League to bring to the attention of the Assembly or of the Council any circumstance whatever affecting international relations which threatens to disturb international peace or the good understanding between nations upon which peace depends.” 

Extract E (Article 16, paragraphs 1–3)

“Should any Member of the League resort to war in disregard of its covenants under Articles 12, 13 or 15, it shall ipso facto be deemed to have committed an act of war against all other Members of the League, which hereby undertake immediately to subject it to the severance of all trade or financial relations, the prohibition of all intercourse between their nationals and the nationals of the covenant-breaking State, and the prevention of all financial, commercial or personal intercourse between the nationals of the covenant-breaking State and the nationals of any other State, whether a Member of the League or not.” 

“It shall be the duty of the Council in such case to recommend to the several Governments concerned what effective military, naval or air force the Members of the League shall severally contribute to the armed forces to be used to protect the covenants of the League.” 

“The Members of the League agree, further, that they will mutually support one another in the financial and economic measures which are taken under this Article, in order to minimise the loss and inconvenience resulting from the above measures, and that they will mutually support one another in resisting any special measures aimed at one of their number by the covenant-breaking State, and that they will take the necessary steps to afford passage through their territory to the forces of any of the Members of the League which are co-operating to protect the covenants of the League.” 

Contextual information:

The Covenant of the League of Nations was drafted during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, principally by Woodrow Wilson and the British diplomat Lord Robert Cecil, with contributions from Jan Smuts of South Africa. It was incorporated as Part I of the Treaty of Versailles, signed on 28 June 1919, and came into force on 10 January 1920. The Covenant established the legal framework and organisational structure of the League, including its membership rules and enforcement mechanisms. 

Bibliographical reference:

League of Nations. (1919). The Covenant of the League of Nations (Preamble; Articles 7, 10, 11, 16). 

Copyright: Public domain.

Extract A

“I have never had but one allegiance — I cannot divide it now. I have loved but one flag and I cannot share that devotion and give affection to the mongrel banner invented for a league. Internationalism, illustrated by the Bolshevik and by the men to whom all countries are alike provided they can make money out of them, is to me repulsive. National I must remain, and in that way I like all other Americans can render the amplest service to the world. The United States is the world’s best hope, but if you fetter her in the interests and quarrels of other nations, if you tangle her in the intrigues of Europe, you will destroy her power for good and endanger her very existence. Leave her to march freely through the centuries to come as in the years that have gone. Strong, generous, and confident, she has nobly served mankind. Beware how you trifle with your marvellous inheritance, this great land of ordered liberty, for if we stumble and fall freedom and civilization everywhere will go down in ruin.” 

Extract B

“We are told that we shall ‘break the heart of the world’ if we do not take this league just as it stands. I fear that the hearts of the vast majority of mankind would beat on strongly and steadily and without any quickening if the league were to perish altogether. If it should be effectively and beneficently changed the people who would lie awake in sorrow for a single night could be easily gathered in one not very large room but those who would draw a long breath of relief would reach to millions.” 

Contextual information:

Henry Cabot Lodge was a Republican Senator from Massachusetts and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He delivered this speech to the U.S. Senate on 12 August 1919, arguing against American ratification of the Treaty of Versailles and membership in the League of Nations. Lodge led the opposition that ultimately defeated the treaty in the Senate, with the final vote on 19 March 1920 falling short of the two-thirds majority required for ratification. 

Bibliographical reference:

Lodge, H. C. (1919). Treaty of peace with Germany: Speech of Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts in the Senate of the United States, August 12, 1919. Congressional Record, 58, 3784. Government Printing Office. Also reprinted in Lodge, H. C. (1925). The Senate and the League of Nations (Chapter XII). Charles Scribner’s Sons. 

Copyright: This speech was delivered in the United States Senate and published in the Congressional Record (1919), a United States Government publication in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.

“The Council at its meeting of June 24th, 1921, having regard to the fact that the two parties interested in the fate of the Aaland Islands have consented that the Council of the League of Nations should be called upon to effect a settlement of the difficulties which have arisen, and that they have agreed to abide by its decision; After consideration of the Report of the Jurists … And having reviewed all the geographical, ethnical, political, economic and military considerations set forth in the memorandum of the Rapporteurs, who undertook a thorough enquiry upon the request of the League of Nations; But having recognised, on the other hand, the desirability of a solution involving a maximum of security both for the population of the Islands and the parties concerned, Decides — 1. The sovereignty of the Aaland Islands is recognised to belong to Finland; 2. Nevertheless, the interests of the world, the future of cordial relations between Finland and Sweden, the prosperity and happiness of the Islands themselves cannot be ensured unless (a) certain further guarantees are given for the protection of the Islanders; and unless (b) arrangements are concluded for the non-fortification and neutralisation of the Archipelago.” 

Contextual information:

This resolution was issued by the Council of the League of Nations on 24 June 1921, settling a territorial dispute between Finland and Sweden over the Aaland Islands in the Baltic Sea. The islands had a predominantly Swedish-speaking population, but the Council ruled that sovereignty belonged to Finland on the condition that guarantees were provided for the islanders’ language and cultural rights, and that the archipelago would be demilitarised. 

Bibliographical reference:

League of Nations Council. (1921). Decision of the Council of the League of Nations on the Aaland Islands, June 24, 1921. League of Nations Official Journal, September 1921. https://tamilnation.org/selfdetermination/21aaland.htm 

Copyright: Public domain.

Extract A (Aaland Islands)

“The very difficult and delicate problem of the sovereignty of the Aaland Islands was solved by the League. On the report of an International Commission of three Members which had made an inquiry on the spot, the Council decided that sovereignty over the Aaland Islands should belong to Finland, but that in the interest of general peace and of future good relations between Finland and Sweden, and with a view to the prosperity and welfare of the Islands themselves, further guarantees should be provided for the population of the Islands, and that the neutralisation and non-fortification of the archipelago should be assured by an international agreement. This agreement was concluded in the form of a diplomatic convention guaranteed by the Council of the League of Nations, which is entrusted with the duty of taking the necessary measures to assure the observance and maintenance of the provisions of the Convention. This is the first European diplomatic convention concluded under the immediate auspices of the League of Nations. The League was the instrument of the satisfactory solution of a most difficult and complicated problem, all parties agreeing loyally to abide by the League decision.” 

Extract B (Upper Silesia)

“On August 12 the Supreme Council addressed a letter to Viscount Ishii, President of the Council, containing this resolution: — ‘In pursuance of Article 11, paragraph 2, of the Covenant of the League of Nations, to submit to the Council of the League the difficulty attending the fixing of the frontier between Germany and Poland in Upper Silesia, and to invite the recommendation of the Council as to the line which the Principal Allied and Associated Powers should lay down.’ Viscount Ishii summoned the Council to meet on August 29 and made a statement on the situation. In accordance with the Treaty of Versailles (Article 88) an Inter-Allied Commission was sent to Poland in 1919. In March, 1921, a plebiscite was taken by the inhabitants of Upper Silesia on a basis of universal suffrage for both sexes. Total German vote, 716,000; Polish vote, 471,000.” 

“On September 4 the following were appointed to form a Committee to examine the question: — M. Hymans (Belgium), M. da Cunha (Brazil), Mr. Wellington Koo (China), M. Quinones de León (Spain). None of these men represented States which had taken any previous part in discussion. The eventual decision was based on the plebiscite figures taken in conjunction with the geographical and economic conditions, and involved the division of the industrial triangle. An ‘Upper Silesian Mixed Commission’ is to be set up, composed of an equal number of Germans and Poles from Upper Silesia with a President of another nationality, who might be designated by the Council. The League is to act as an advisory body. The recommendations include economic clauses which are designed to prevent the political frontier from constituting in any way a barrier to trade. Any dispute arising between the German and Polish Governments within the next fifteen years in respect of these clauses may be referred to the Council of the League of Nations by the Governments concerned. These recommendations of the Council have been universally adopted.” 

Contextual information:

This pamphlet was published by the League of Nations Union in London in May 1922 as an accessible summary of the League’s activities during its first two years of operation. The League of Nations Union was a British advocacy organisation that promoted public understanding of and support for the League. The summary covers the key territorial disputes and humanitarian efforts of the League between January 1920 and March 1922. 

Bibliographical reference:

League of Nations Union. (1922). Summary of the work of the League of Nations, January 1920–March 1922 (2nd ed., Pamphlet No. 75, sections “The Aaland Islands” and “Upper Silesia”). League of Nations Union.  

Copyright: Public domain.

“The Italian Government, with its note of October 7 last, and with the declarations of its delegate to the Council and to the Assembly of the League of Nations, denied the basis of the resolutions adopted at Geneva regarding the conflict between Italy and Ethiopia. It repelled the accusation of having violated the obligations undertaken under Article 12 of the Covenant. Today, when, following the said resolutions and affirmations, numerous member states are proceeding, with reference to Article 16 of the Covenant, to the application of measures bringing pressure on Italy, the Royal Government renews the broadest and most decided protest against the gravity and the injustice of the proceedings which have been adopted to its injury.” 

Contextual information:

This is the text of a diplomatic note sent by the Italian Government on 11 November 1935 to all governments that had voted in favour of League of Nations sanctions against Italy following its invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935. The document was compiled in the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series, which is the official historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and diplomatic activity, published by the U.S. Department of State. 

Bibliographical reference:

U.S. Department of State. (1935). Text of the note which the Italian Government addressed on November 11, 1935, to all the Governments which, at Geneva, voted for sanctions against Italy (Document 568). In Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1935, Volume I: General, the Near East and Africa (pp. 684–687). Government Printing Office.  

Copyright: This is a work of the United States Government and is in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.

“I pointed out to the Ambassador the fact that the League of Nations organization at Geneva solemnly adjudged an aggressor in this war, while the United States did not; that the Geneva agency seeks to aid Ethiopia, which the United States does not; that the Geneva agency seeks to embargo all imports from Italy, which this Government does not; that this Government, as stated, is pursuing its own separate course without understanding or collaboration with other governments or peace agencies, and that in these circumstances it is not only difficult to understand the Italian complaint but I repeat that it is surprising to contemplate it.” 

Contextual information:

This memorandum records a conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and the Italian Ambassador regarding Italy’s protest against what it perceived as American co-ordination with League of Nations sanctions. Hull’s memorandum clarifies the distinction between the League’s formal sanctions under Article 16 of the Covenant and the United States’ independent neutrality policy. It also confirms that the League had formally identified Italy as the aggressor in the Italo-Ethiopian conflict. 

Bibliographical reference:

Hull, C. (1935). Memorandum by the Secretary of State (Document 707). In U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1935, Volume I: General, the Near East and Africa (pp. 831–832). Government Printing Office.  

Copyright: This is a work of the United States Government and is in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.

“The Assembly of the League of Nations, Considering that the Charter of the United Nations has created, for purposes of the same nature as those for which the League of Nations was established, an international organisation known as the United Nations to which all States may be admitted as Members on the conditions prescribed by the Charter and to which the great majority of the Members of the League already belong; Desiring to promote, so far as lies in its power, the continuation, development and success of international co-operation in the new form adopted by the United Nations; Considering that, since the new organisation has now commenced to exercise its functions, the League of Nations may be dissolved.” 

Contextual information:

This resolution was adopted by the League of Nations Assembly at its twenty-first and final ordinary session in Geneva on 18 April 1946. It formally dissolved the League of Nations and transferred its assets and responsibilities to the United Nations, which had been established by the Charter signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945. 

Bibliographical reference:

League of Nations. (1946). Resolution for the dissolution of the League of Nations, adopted by the Assembly on April 18, 1946. League of Nations Official Journal, Special Supplement No. 194 (Document A/32(1).1946.X). Reprinted in International Organization, 1(1), 246–251. 

Copyright: Public domain.