!

Wilson’s
League for Peace
A Documentary by
Ryan Atallah

STATE
!

Wilson’s League for Peace

Ryan Atallah
Senior Division
Independent Documentary
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

Process Paper

The League of Nations was not my first selection for my national history day topic. I

began thinking about doing Affirmative Action, but that idea I rejected based on the fact that I

didn’t consider it to be revolutionary enough. I sought a more substantial topic, and given my

interest in international politics and philosophy, the League of Nations fit my criteria very well. I

had decided to do a documentary from the beginning, because I was very familiar with the film

process and believed I could create something that would appeal to an extensive audience.

International affairs has long been a topic that I have sought to learn more about, and when

choosing a History Day topic I thought that studying the League of Nations would provide me

with extensive knowledge and understanding in the areas of diplomacy, conflict negotiation,

international political theory, and more.

Since the League of Nations kept so many records, there are a plethora of primary

sources to be used at the discretion of researchers and historians from all over the world. To help

me search through them all, I found guides to primary sources, which directed me to the right

ones. Once I had collected enough information about the events that occurred surrounding the

League’s commencement, I looked into biographies of Woodrow Wilson, papers on international

law and political theory, and even some newspapers, to fortify my knowledge and provide some

additional context and perspective. These sources guided me to others that more specifically

targeted areas I wished to address in my project. To organize my research, I used a program

called Evernote.

1
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

The League of Nations is largely significant in that it pioneered modern international

relations, which are necessary to ensure our continued safety and security. Wars are no longer

fought for conquest, but instead for the preservation of rights. That paradigm shift became

evident with the League of Nations, and although it failed to prevent conflict it undoubtedly

shaped its successors, namely the United Nations. It is without question that the League was an

innovation in history, considering it was the first major international institution to attract nearly

world-wide support and actually succeed in its pursuit of establishing international standards for

certain social issues as well as making progress in disarmament as a means of preventing war. It

had a significant impact on American diplomacy, as well as a instigating a lasting change in the

general conduct and perception of international relations for the future. Not only was the League

an innovation because of it’s reputation as an international organization, but the role that Wilson

and through him the United States played in the League’s creation that was an innovation too.

Before hand, the US was largely isolationist and protectionist. The formation of the League

really marks the first significant contribution that the US made to the future of diplomacy, in the

history of the great nation.

2
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

Bibliography

Primary Sources

The Avalon Project. "British White Paper of 1939." Lillian Goldman Law Library. http://
avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/brwh1939.asp (accessed January 13, 2009).

The Avalon Project is a collection of documents pertaining to Law, Politics, Diplomacy,

and Government throughout history. The British White Paper of 1939 was a statement of British
policy regarding the handling of the situation in Palestine with Jewish migration. The effect that
the Mandate on Palestine by the Supreme Court of the League of Nations is evident, as the
Mandate is cited numerous times in the paper as either justification or basis for their actions.
Although the paper did offer a controversial approach to the Mandate, the weight of the original
document is clear.

Fosdick, Raymond B. "Third League Assembly: Disarmament and Other Outstanding Questions
Facing Meeting at Geneva." The New York Times, September 3, 1922. http://
query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?
_r=1&res=9E07E1DC153AEE32A25750C0A96F9C946395D6CF (accessed February 5,
2010).

This article, written well after the Senate's rejection of the Treaty of Versaille, was useful
in showing how the League was running without the U.S., how the rest of the world perceived
the U.S. not being involved with the League, and generally what American felt about such
matters. Given that the third League assembly represented over 4/5 of the worlds population, and
that the U.S. was one of 6 major powers not present, such concepts were crucial to my project.

Grotius, Hugo. On the Law of War and Peace. London, 1814.

Hugo Grotius' major work was written in the 17th Century in latin. It was later translated
by A. C. Campbell and published in London, in 1814. The book was originally titled De Jure
Belli ac Pacis. Since Grotius considered war to be a necessary evil, instead of discussing the evils
of war and how to prevent it, the book iterates the rights of various parties (e.g. embassies,
neutral powers, prisoners of war, etc.) involved in violent conflict so as to regulate the negative
effects of war. These were the first true international standards introduced resembling a form of
international law or community justice.

1
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

Jenks, George F. "World Peace Job for All, Dewey Says: Smaller Nations Must Help Map
Postwar Security, Nominee Asserts." Pittsburg Post-Gazette. September 9, 1944.

This primary source article from the Pittsburg Post-Gazette was especially useful in
illustrating the state of negotiations for the formation of an international organization following
WWII. The formation of such an organization was part of the campaign platform of the
Republican Party in the election of 1944, and this article actually contains numerous quotes from
Republican Nominee Thomas E. Dewey himself on his perspective on world peace and a United
Nations organization. This article specifically addressed the issues of bipartisanship, plans for
peace, equality among nations, the involvement of small or weak nations, the punishment of
Germany and Japan, disarmament, U.S. involvement with international affairs (especially
international organizations) and American ideology regarding participating in a United Nations
assembly. This information was incredibly interesting when compared with the sentiment during
the planning of the League of Nations following WWI.

League of Nations. Covenant of the League of Nations. Geneva: League of Nations, 1919.

The full text of the Covenant was found at http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/

leagueofnatons.htm (accessed January 10, 2010).

Outlined in 26 Articles in the Covenant of the League of Nations are the structure,
policies, and purpose of the League, as determined when it was founded. This was the
documented that was accepted by the first member nations, and can be looked to for insight on
both the League's shortcoming and it's revolutionary nature.

–––. Illustrated Album of The League of Nations. Geneva: Atar, 1926. http://bl-libg-
doghill.ads.iu.edu/league-web/book/p07.html (accessed January 17, 2010).

This publication by the Secretariat of the League of Nations outlines the foundation of the
League, and provided a plethora of photos of both the people in power and the locations in which
the League operated. The book was incredibly useful in providing perspective on the League's
goals, before it was deemed a failure.

Lodge, Henry Cabot. "Henry Cabot Lodge: Reservations with Regard to the
Treaty." Congressional Record. 66th Cong., 1st sess., 1917.

Lodge's list of reservations helped clarify exactly what issues the American's had with the
Covenant of the League of Nations, and more generally speaking, what aspect of the League
itself they were most in disagreement with. The sovereignty issue of the United States, and its
ability to determine for itself when to make use of its resources and change its policy was

2
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

paramount in the Senate's decision to refrain from signing the Treaty, and Lodge's argumentation
as well as the Senate debate appended to this congressional document clearly depict that.

Modern History SourceBook. "Modern History Sourcebook: The Mandate for Palestine, July 24,
1922." Fordham University. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/
1922mandate.html (accessed January 11, 2010).

This source provided the actual text for one of the Supreme Court of the League of
Nations first tasks: the Mandate for Palestine. This was one of the first Zionist movements, and
provides the exact criteria of the mandate, as well as defines the extent of the League's power.
Such is important to establish a precedent for future efforts of the League.

The Modern History Scrapbook has information about a wide variety of historical topics,
and upon exploring the site I encountered a fair amount of information concerning the aftermath
of WWI, and the contextual factors that led to the League's creation.

Paderewski, Ignace. Address Summarizing the Events Prior to the Paris Peace Conference, May,
1919. In Vol. 7 of Source Records of the Great War, edited by Charles F. Horne. National
Alumni, 1923.

Paderewski's address provides much contextual information regarding what kind of

international tension was present shortly after the end of WWI. He also describes American
assistance as being invaluable, an example of how Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy supported
peace and the welfare of other nations.

–––. Statement on Polish Support of the League of Nations, September, 1919. In Vol. 7 of Source
Records of the Great War, edited by Charles F. Horne. National Alumni, 1923.

Paderewski's commentary on the League of Nations expressed Poland's dire situation

following the conclusion of WWI, and how crucial it was to prevent conflict and provide security
for weak nations unable to defend themselves. This source provides the context necessary to
understand why an international organization compelling arbitration was so sought after.

Peshkin, Jacob A. to Woodrow Wilson. Letter. May 5, 1917. Woodrow Wilson Presidential
Library.

This letter was written to President Wilson by an immigrant from Russia, after hearing
his speech in which WIlson announced his decision to declare war. The letter provides a brief
view on how a citizen (a foreigner, even) perceived Wilson's decision. Accompanying the letter

3
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

was a drawing of Wilson, composed out of the text of the speech. This source was useful for my
project because it provided the foreigner’s perspective on Wilson’s efforts.

"Senate Defeats Treaty." The New York Times, March 19, 1920. http://www.nytimes.com/
learning/general/onthisday/big/0319.html#article (accessed March 5, 2010).

This article from the New York Times was published right after the Senate's rejection of
the Treaty of Versailles, and is very interesting in its depiction of the events. It mentions those
who consider the ratification of the treaty to still be a possibility, and the article also sites
probably effects on the United States' perception abroad as a result of the rejection. As a primary
source, I was able to obtain a perspective here that I couldn't get anywhere else.

Smyth, William Henry. Federation of Nations: An Alternative to the League of Nations.

Berkeley, CA: N.p., 1922.

In his book Smyth compares the League of Nations to a Federation of Nations, and thus
takes a firm stance against the formation of the League. He provides the alternative perspective
of American reception of Wilson's efforts, making this source incredibly useful.

"The Treaty of Versailles." June 28, 1919. Treaty Series.

The Treaty of Versailles contains the provisions which ended WWI, setting the stage for
the League of Nations. In fact, the first part of the Treaty defined the League. Nearly all of the
provisions pertain specifically to Germany, which prompted me to look into additional sources
on Germany's reception of the League of Nations.

"Wants $8,000,000 to Fight Typhus: League Asks for Contribution to Prevent Spread of Plague
Westward." The New York Times, October 11, 1920. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/
abstract.html?res=9E04E7DE1E3DE533A25752C1A9669D946195D6CF (accessed
April 29, 2010).

This article from the New York Times was published after the League of Nations filed a
request for $8 million from its member states in order to fight the deadly spread of Typhus in
Poland. Considering that this event demonstrated to the world the great necessity of an
international health organization in the League of Nations.

4
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

Wells, H. G. The Idea of a League of Nations. Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1919.

H.G. Wells' commentary on International Organizations, specifically the League of

Nations, was an excellent source of information regarding how Wilson's proposition of
establishing an international order to maintain world peace was viewed by the rest of the world.
Wells is very thorough in his analysis of the League, but focuses primarily on the theory behind
international organizations and the place they have in early 20th century society. Wells also
touches on what the League will require to function, and by conducting that analysis actually
predicted a potential cause of the League's dissolution.

Wilson, Woodrow. "A League for Peace: Peace without Victory." Congressional Record. 64th
Cong., 2d sess., 1917. Senate Doc. 685.

Woodrow WIlson's Peace without Victory speech is perhaps one of his most famous.
Here, he explained to congress his idea of a League for Peace, and how the ideas behind it and
fundamental American ideas are not mutually exclusive. The speech was very informative of
Wilson's approach on Peace, and his idea of a "peace without victory" was a policy altering one.

–––. "Message to Congress." Congressional Record. 63rd Cong., 2d sess., 1914. Senate Doc.
566.

Although Wilson ultimately called for Congress to declare war on Germany in 1917, in
his first term as president he strongly advocated neutrality and isolationism. This Declaration of
Neutrality, when juxtaposed with his declaration of war, shows just how politics had changed
over the course of three years. Wilson's concerns here were very insightful.

–––. "Request for Declaration of War." War Messages. 65th Cong., 1st sess., 1917.

Wilson's declaration of war was a highly anticipated and tenuous event, as it contradicted
his prior advocacy of neutrality. The speech describes the state of the world, and Wilson really
emphasizes the impacts of maintaining world peace and democracy. When compared with his 14
Points Speech, one can observe how Wilson's foreign policy changed over the course of the war,
a juxtaposition which made this source very useful.

–––. "Second Inaugural Address of Woodrow Wilson." Congressional Record. 64th Cong., 2d
sess., 1917. Senate Doc. 101.

Wilson's second inaugural address is concerned mostly with America's role in the war. At
the time of the Speech, the country was not actively participating in the global conflict, but since

5
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

Wilson asked congress to declare war almost one month after the speech, what he said shows the
first steps in his mind as far as justifying American entry.

–––. "Speech on the Fourteen Points." Congressional Record. 65th Cong., 2d sess., 1918.

Delivered in Joint Session of Congress, January 8, 1918. These points marked the
beginning of the formation of the League of Nations. President Wilson's efforts to preserve
World Peace, mediate disputes, prevent conflict, and uphold human rights, are outlined in his
Fourteen Points here. Wilson's perspective on how international relations ought be carried out is
preserved in his speech, making it a very useful source of information both about Wilson and
about the issues of the time period towards the end of the war.

6
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

Secondary Sources

Angell, Norman. The Great Illusion: A study of the Relation of Military Power to National
Advantage. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1910.

Sir Norman Angell, the English diplomat and journalist, put numerous interesting
theories into his book "The Great Illusion" just prior to the outbreak of the First World War. He
theorized that the economies of the European countries had become so integrating that a war
between them would be so devastating that it would make militarism obsolete. While many of
his theories were empirically refuted once the reality of WWI set in, I did notice a parallel
between many of his ideas and those of Woodrow Wilson, especially as evident in his "Peace
without Victors" speech and stern warnings against future conflict.

Bailey, Thomas A. Woodrow Wilson and the Great Betrayal. New York: Crown Publishing
Group, 1972.

Thomas Bailey's book provided significant insight and analysis on the role that the
United States played against President Wilson's efforts to influence the United States' decision to
join the League of Nations. It listed and elaborated significantly on a number of different effects
that the lack of American support had on the failure of the League, international ideas of world-
politics, and American people themselves.

Beck, Sanderson. World Peace Efforts Since Gandhi. Goleta, CA: World Peace Communications,
2005.

First and foremost, the chapters in Sanderson's book pertaining to the League of Nations
are a factual account of how the organization began and the context surrounding it. His account
provides a short history of international organizations and efforts to eliminate warfare to be
replaced by arbitration, as well as the major goals and criteria behind the League.

Two additional sections of the book, describing both the failures and successes of the
League, depict the downfall of the League tragically. Sanderson does not readily classify the
League as a necessary step in the process of perfecting an international organization, but rather
simply a failed attempt with little developmental effects.

Cohrs, Patrick O. The Unfinished Peace after World War I: America, Britain and the Stabilisation
of Europe, 1919-1932. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Cohrs's book had a unique perspective on the events following the conclusion of the first
World War. I found it particularly interesting because it analyzed Wilson as a progressive

7
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

president, in the context of historical approaches to foreign policy, as well as concepts such as
geo-political conditions and how they effected internationalism in the 1920s and 30s.

Cooper, John Milton, Jr. Woodrow Wilson: A Biography. New York: Random House Inc., 2009.

Cooper’s biography of Wilson is by far the most thorough account of his life that I have
come across. This source was incredibly useful to my project in that it provided me with
numerous details regarding the significance and development of certain events, such as the
rivalry between Wilson and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge.

Fay, Sidney Bradshaw. Origins of the World War. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1929.

This book written by American Historian Sidney Bradshaw Fay provides a very detailed
analysis on probable causes of World War I, including the motivation behind certain
developments in the conflict as well as why many countries didn't want to get involved, or
simply lacked the incentive to do so. The main points that Fay makes surround the numerous
secret alliances that pulled the many countries in, but also the extent to which some countries
sought national unification. Fay's analysis was incredibly useful for my project because it helped
me establish the foundation for the League of Nations.

Fosdick, Raymond B. "The League of Nations and an Instrument of Liberalism." The Atlantic
Monthly 126, no. 4 (October 1920): 553-563. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/20oct/
fosdick.htm (accessed January 14, 2010).

Fosdick's article in the Atlantic Monthly begins by describing the two main frames of
mind in opposing the ratification of the treaty and the acceptance of the League of Nations; both
of which differed in the relationship between those two issues. One, the more conservative
nationalist view, believed that the Treaty was acceptable but that the League violated American
sovereignty. The other, considered liberal internationalist by Fosdick, argued that it was in the
best of the United States to join the League, but the Treaty had become unacceptable with its
vengeful reparations. He analyzes the second objection, which curiously is not commonly listed
as a source of opposition to the acceptance of the League of Nations in the United States. This
new perspective was entirely foreign to anything else I had come across.

8
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

–––. "The League of Nations is Alive." The Atlantic Monthly 125, no. 6 (June 1920):
845-53. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/20jun/fosdick.htm (accessed January 16,
2010).

Written less than a year after the League of Nations was officially established, this article
by Raymond Fosdick, who would later become the president of the Rockefeller Foundation in
NYC, goes over all the major issues that the League addressed or sought to address straight from
the beginning. It does a fantastic job in analyzing the magnitude of the issues at hand, such as the
stability of europe, the spread and containment of disease, disarmament, and political disputes.
Additionally, the article goes into great depth into the current state of affairs from within the
League, such as the diversity among its leadership panel and other divisions of power.

Greene, William. "The Miracle of Holland: Hugo Grotius: Naturalist, Eclectic or Theonomist?"
Miami Christian University. http://mcu.edu/papers/grotius.htm (accessed April 28, 2010).

William Greene is a Ph.D. at Miami Christian University, and has written numerous
papers on international law and the history of diplomacy. This particular paper concerns the
father of international law, Hugo Grotius. The paper begins by briefly summarizing the major
events of his life, and then goes on to discuss Grotius' work and significant publishings. This
source was very helpful and one of the most credible resources I was able to find regarding Hugo
Grotius.

Goetzmann, William N., Lingeng Li, and K. Geert Rouwenhorst. "Long-Term Global Market
Correlations." DNB Staff Reports 98 (November 2003). https://docs.google.com/viewer?
url=http://www.dnb.nl/en/binaries/sr098_tcm47-146875.pdf (accessed April 24, 2010).

This Journal Article published by the De Nederlandsche Bank in 2003 is part of a larger
series of staff reports that disseminate research done by Bank staff members for the purpose of
being used in scholarly research and discussion. Although the vast majority of the information in
the report was irrelevant to my project, the article did draw some links between the League of
Nation's effect on indices compiled of global financial data that greatly influenced future indices
of similar nature.

Jacks, L. P. "A League of Nations as a League of Governments?" The Atlantic Monthly 131, no. 2
(February, 1923): 161-71. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/23feb/jacks.htm (accessed
January 16, 2010).

L. P. Jacks analyzes the League of Nations in the context of governmental politics. He

writes that while the League is, by name, one of Nations, it is in fact merely one of governments,
a conglomeration of political machinery. This form of alliance breeds mistrust and downfall, and

9
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

inadequately represents the "spirit" of the nations that they theoretically should be representing.
The point that Jacks made that I thought was most helpful was that Wilson entered the Paris
Peace Conference with the intention of creating an organization that would serve humanity, but
what in fact was created actually served political purposes instead. This, many believe, was
inevitable.

"The League of Nations." British Library: Help for Researchers. http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/

findhelpregion/internat/theleagueofnations/leagueofnations.html#league (accessed April
24, 2010).

While this site is primarily a resource guide intended to aid researchers in finding
information, it also had a brief overview of the history and significance of the League of Nations,
in addition to practical work it was involved with and how it came to an end. This source was
helpful primarily for its reference to other articles and books, regarding the protection of
minorities, repression of terrorism, and official League publishings.

Macmillan, Margaret. Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World. New York: Random
House, Inc., 2002.

Macmillan's book focused on the Treaty of Versailles as a whole, of which the League of
Nations was of course a significant part. Thus her analysis is focused on the failures and
successes of the League from the perspective of all the issues addressed by the Paris Peace
conference, and isn't limited to American rejection.

Meade, Marion, Marion Kirchner, Dennis O'Neil, Isobel Rockower, Kathryn Ward, and Stephen
Winter, eds. The Great Innovators. New York: Year, Inc., n.d.

The Great Innovators is a book with information on a number of political and social
reformists, which contained a significant amount of information on Woodrow Wilson and his
innovation of the League of Nations. It gave a very detailed account on the process Wilson went
through to muster American support of the League and hopefully sign the Treaty to ratify it. I
was also able to obtain much information about Wilson's background and personal life. This
source was particularly useful in depicting the American role (or lack thereof) in the formation of
the League.

10
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

Miller, Jon. "Hugo Grotius." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/

entries/grotius/ (accessed April 28, 2010).

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a collection of articles put together by a

series of scholars at Stanford regarding a wide range of philosophical issues and theorists. The
part of their article that was particularly insightful was the entry regarding Just War doctrine,
deviating greatly from the principles pursued in the early 20th century by Woodrow Wilson.
Grotius believed that war was in fact demanded by three degrees of law: the law of nature, the
law of nations (international law), and divine law. While this was true, he also advocated the
regulation of warfare to protect those involved and independent of the situation.

Northwestern University Library. "Statistical Yearbook of the League of Nations: Statistical and
Disarmament Documents." http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/collections/
league/stat.html (accessed January 14, 2010).

Although I did not use the statistics presented in this database, as the numbers themselves
are not relevant to the significance of the League of Nations, I did use them to represent what the
League was able to accomplish. As the first organization to facilitate widespread statistical
analysis and collection of data, the resources provided at this site show the evidence of that
innovation.

PBS: American Experience. "Wilson - A Portrait: League of Nations." PBS. http://www.pbs.org/

wgbh/amex/wilson/portrait/wp_league.html (accessed January 16, 2010).

PBS's website for their documentary on Woodrow Wilson provides some background
information on both the President and the League of Nations. This source led me to a few other
primary sources on the League and the treaties signed following the conclusion of WWI.

PBS. Woodrow Wilson. DVD. Directed by Carl Byker and Mitch Wilson. CA: KCET Hollywood
Production in associate with Red Hill Productions, 2001.

PBS's documentary on Woodrow Wilson as a part of their American Experience series

provided much insight into Wilson's life, his policies, and even his shortcomings or mistakes.
The film did touch a little bit on the innovation of the League of Nations and how it influenced
the future of international diplomacy and the use of arbitration, however it focused mainly on
Wilson's personal life. A part of his biographical account involved the racial legacy that he left
behind, and the impact of some of the controversial pieces of legislation that he tried to pass into
law (such as the Sedition Act of 1918). The documentary also cited an assortment of primary

11
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

source documents, which I later searched for for further information. This is also where I
acquired most of my video resources for the documentary.

Princeton University Library. "The League of Nations: A Primer for Documents

Research." http://www.princeton.edu/~sbwhite/un/leagwebb.html (accessed January 14,
2010).

This page on the Princeton University Library portal to research assets on the League of
Nations provided an interesting perspective on why the organization was revolutionary for its
time period. The page also emphasizes the impact that the League has had on the future of
international politics, and how organizations such as the UN are operated, as well as provided
some basic context.

More importantly however, the site guided me to a significant number of other sources,
including electronic full text copies of resources from the League of Nations archives. It also led
me to the Avalon Project website, where many documents regarding politics and law are kept for
public access.

Townshend, Charles. "The League of Nations and the United Nations." BBC: World Wars in-
depth. (accessed January 31 2010). http://www.bbc.co.uk/hist ory/worldwars/wwone/
league_nations_01.shtml.

This source was specifically useful in illuminating the influence that the League had on
the formation of the United Nations, i.e. which programs were carried over and how exactly the
transfer of responsibilities occurred.

"UN Action to Counter Terrorism." The United Nations. http://www.un.org/terrorism/

instruments.shtml (accessed April 24. 2010).

The United Nations counter-terrorism page on their website contains a introduction to

international efforts to combat and suppress terrorism in the world. While it wouldn't be until
2006 that a common approach would be agreed upon through the formal adoption of a counter-
terrorism strategy at the General Assembly, the first efforts to do so actually originate with the
League of Nations. In 1937 a Convention for the prevention and punishment was adopted by the
League, but it was never enforced. This information, along with the strategic framework for
fighting terrorism in the UN, helped in establishing the significance of international organization
in cooperative counter-terrorism efforts, and also led me to numerous other sources on the issue.

12
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

The United Nations Office at Geneva. "Before the League of Nations." The United Nations in the
Heart of Europe. http://www.unog.ch/80256EE60057D930/(httpPages)/
B5B92952225993B0C1256F2D00393560?OpenDocument (accessed January 6, 2010).

This article outlines a few forerunners of the League of Nations pioneering international
organizations and the widespread use of arbitration. These include the Inter-Parliamentary Union
established in 1889, the International Peace Bureau in 1891, and the Women's International
League of Peace and Freedom (WILPF). The ideas behind these organizations are also compared
briefly to those of the League of Nations.

–––. "Organization and Establishment." The United Nations in the Heart of Europe. http://
www.unog.ch/80256EE60057D930/(httpPages)/
84C4520213F947DDC1256F32002E23DB?OpenDocument (accessed January 6, 2010).

In a short summary of how the League of Nations got started, this source shows briefly
what process led to the drafting of the Covenant and the ratification of the League itself,
although provides no historical context. After outlining the main points of the League, the
UNOG page goes on to summarize the main points of the Covenant, goals of the League, list the
permanent and some of the temporary members, and explain how the headquarters at Geneva
was decided upon.

–––. "Political Activities." The United Nations in the Heart of Europe. http://www.unog.ch/
80256EE60057D930/(httpPages)/C3CC141ADEC42C68C1256F32002E983B?
OpenDocument (accessed January 6, 2010).

This page from the UNOG website was surprisingly historical; the UN appears to openly
recognize the League of Nation's failures. Here, the many political affairs and activities of the
League are described, some in more detail than others, but I was able to determine the general
trends. This article was extremely helpful in understanding exactly to what extent the League
became involved in other countries' affairs, what kinds of affairs those tended to be, and how
successful they typically were (and why).

–––. "Technical Activities." The United Nations in the Heart of Europe. http://www.unog.ch/
80256EE60057D930/(httpPages)/C3CC141ADEC42C68C1256F32002E983B?
OpenDocument (accessed January 6, 2010).

The "Technical Activities" of the League of Nations described here show the many areas
of international affairs that the League was involved with. Although not all attempts at
international reform were successful (nearly all economic reform attempts were failures), there
were a number of areas in which the initiatives started in the late 1920s and early 1930s became

13
 Ryan Atallah – Wilson’s League for Peace

part of the framework for the creation of the UN. This source provides much information about
exactly how successful each area of reform was, and what impact it had on modern international
policy, which made it very useful.

–––. "The End of the League of Nations." The United Nations in the Heart of Europe. http://
www.unog.ch/80256EE60057D930/(httpPages)/
02076E77C9D0EF73C1256F32002F48B3?OpenDocument (accessed January 6, 2010).

Primarily discussed on this page of the UNOG's website are the factors contributing to
the fall of the League, and the subsequent creation of the United Nations in its stead. Although
this source did not propose any novel ideas in the significance of the failure/demise of the
League, it did point me to additional primary sources, specifically political commentary on the
end of the League and whether or not it was a complete failure.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "Dialogue: Wilson in War and Peace,"
Dialogue at the Woodrow Wilson Center. 2008. iTunes Podcasts. MPEG-4 video
file. http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?
id=276680333&subMediaType=Video (accessed January 15, 2010).

George Liston Seay moderated a discussion about Woodrow Wilson and his policy as
president between him and John Milton Cooper, a historian, author, and biographer of Woodrow
Wilson. Although the two did not speak very much of the League of Nations, John Milton
Cooper's insight on Wilson's policy and values did shed some light on what drove him to push
for international reform, and helped me to understand how he operated as a president.

Zweifel, Thomas D. International Organizations and Democracy: Accountability, Politics, and

Power. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2006.

This source was incredibly useful in provided much background information about
international organizations and political theory. This is where I first began to explore Hugo
Grotius and the Concert of Europe. The book goes into great detail about how international
organizations got started, and even has numerous case studies of sorts that provide examples of
each and every concept explained.

14