Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The League of Nations

  • The Controversial History of the Failed Organization That Preceded the United Nations
  • By: Charles River Editors
  • Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
  • Length: 1 hr and 49 mins

$0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
The League of Nations cover art

The League of Nations

By: Charles River Editors
Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £6.99

Buy Now for £6.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia: The Turbulent History of the Country’s Formation and Occupation During World War I and World War II cover art
The French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon: The History and Legacy of France's Administration of the Levant after World War I cover art
The Unification of Germany: The History and Legacy of the German Empire’s Establishment cover art
The Postwar Occupation of Japan cover art
Otto von Bismarck: The Life and Legacy of the German Empire's First Chancellor cover art
The American Trajectory cover art
The World Remade cover art
The Locomotive of War cover art
Diplomatic History cover art
Churchill cover art
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789 cover art
Churchill and the Bomb in War and Cold War cover art
Churchill's Confidant cover art
The Naked Communist cover art
The Russian Revolution cover art
The March of Folly cover art

Summary

The United Nations is one of the most famous bodies in the world, and its predecessor, the League of Nations, might be equally notorious. In fact, President Woodrow Wilson's pet project was controversial from nearly the minute it was conceived. At the end of World War I, Wilson's pleas at the Paris Peace Conference relied on his 14 Points, which included the establishment of a League of Nations, but while his points were mostly popular amongst Americans and Europeans alike, leaders at the Peace Conference largely discarded them and favored different approaches. British leaders saw their singular aim as the maintenance of British colonial possessions. France, meanwhile, only wanted to ensure that Germany was weakened and unable to wage war again, and it too had colonial interests abroad that it hoped to maintain. Britain and France thus saw eye-to-eye, with both wanting a weaker Germany and both wanting to maintain their colonies. Wilson, however, wanted both countries to rid themselves of their colonies, and he wanted Germany to maintain its self-determination and right to self-defense. Wilson totally opposed the "war guilt" clause, which blamed the war on Germany.

Wilson mostly found himself shut out, but Britain and France did not want American contributions to the war to go totally unappreciated, if only out of fear that the US might turn towards improving their relations with Germany in response. Thus, to appease Wilson and the Americans, France and Britain consented to the creation of a League of Nations. However, even though his participation in the crafting of the Treaty of Versailles earned him a Nobel Prize that year, Wilson soon learned to his consternation that diplomacy with Congress would go no better than his diplomacy with European leaders. The only major provision that Wilson achieved in Europe, the League of Nations, was the most controversial in the United States. Both aisles of Congress had qualms about the idea, believing it violated the Constitution by giving power over self-defense to an international body. Other interests in the United States, especially Irish-Americans, had now totally turned against Wilson. The President's interest in national self-determination extended to many European countries, including Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Belgium, but it excluded one critical country: Ireland, a country currently embroiled in a revolution against Great Britain. Worse, Irish-Americans thought the League of Nations would harden Anglo control of global institutions. Simply put, Wilson returned home to find many Americans weren't buying the League of Nations. While the Senate was able to build a slim majority in favor of ratification, it could not support the necessary two-thirds majority.

Although the League of Nations was short-lived and clearly failed in its primary mission, it did essentially spawn the United Nations at the end of World War II, and many of the UN's structures and organizations came straight from its predecessor, with the concepts of an International Court and a General Assembly coming straight from the League. More importantly, the failures of the League ensured that the UN was given stronger authority and enforcement mechanisms, most notably through the latter's Security Council.

©2016 Charles River Editors (P)2017 Charles River Editors
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Transform your day

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Listen everywhere

Listen everywhere

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Carry your entire Library

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Listen and learn

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Reach your reading goals

Reach your reading goals

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Find your niche

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for £0.00 £7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

What listeners say about The League of Nations

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.