-
United States joins WWI
The America finally joins World War I after chosing to remain neutral for a while. This is one of the main reasons for why the League of Nations was later established. -
League of Nations Failure: Teschen conflict
Teschen, a small town between Poland and Czechoslovakia, was fought for by those two newly-created nations. The rich coal mines in Teschen could be valuable for the nations. Polish and Czech troops fought in Teschen streets in January 1919 and many died. The League was called in to resolve the issue, and they gave the Czech one of the suburbs containing the most valuable coal mines. The Poles refused to accept this decision, and the two countries continued to argue over Teschen. -
League of Nations failure: Polish-Soviet War
In 1920, Poland invaded Russia, quickly overwhelming the Russian army. In 1921, the Russians were forced to sign the Treaty of Riga, handing over a plot of Russian land so large it nearly doubled the size of Poland. The League did nothing to stop this war. To outsiders, it seemed as if the League chose to only save countries that were acceptable and shared their views because of its refusal to save Communist Russia. -
League of Nations success: The Aaland Islands
Despite being an equal distrance from Finland and Sweden, the Aaland Islands traditionally belonged to Finland, but its population wished to be governed by Sweden. Finland and Sweden eventually asked the League of Nations to resolve the issue in 1921 as they could not come to an agreement. The League's final decision was that the Islands remained Finland's but could not be used to store weapons. This decision is in force today. -
League of Nations failure: invasion of the Ruhr
In 1922, Germany failed to pay an installment of their reparations for war damages as agreed upon in the Treaty of Versailles. The Allies, still filled with anti-German feelings, did not believe that Germany simply did not have the resources to pay the installment, and the French and Belgium invaded the Ruhr - Germany's most important industrial zone, against League rules. The League did nothing to stop it, as its major supporters in Europe, France and Britain, were involved in the conflict. -
League of Nations Failure/Success: Greco-Turkish War
Despite failing to stop the war in Turkey, the League managed to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Turkey caused by the war. The League sent doctors to care and check those with diseases, and second 10 million euros builidng farms and homes for refugees. They also founded work for 600,000 people, no doubt saving many of the people affected by the war. -
League of Nations success: Memel
Memel was a port in Lithuania. Many of its inhabitants were Lithuanian, so the Lithuanian government assumed they owned the port, but in the Treaty of Versailles, Memel and the land surrounded it belonged to the League and was governed by a French general. The Lithuanians attacked the port in 1923, but the League intervened and made it an "international zone." This is seen as a League success, as both parties reached an agreement without violence. -
League of Nations success: Greece and Bulgaria
In 1925, sentries patrolling the shared border between Greece and Bulgaria fired on one another and a Greek soldier was killed. The Greek army invaded Bulgaria as a result, with the Bulgarians asking the League for help. The League successfully stopped the fighting, fining Greece 45,000 euros after determining that it was their fault. Both nations agreed, and a conflict was ended. -
League of Nations failure: Japan and Manchuria
In the 1930s, due to the worldwide economic depression, Japan tried to build up an empire to overcome the depression. In 1932, the Japanese army overthrew the Chinese government in Manchuria and claimed it as their own. Other countried did not interfere, as many had strong trading ties to Japan. China asked the League for help, who studied the issue for a year before demanding Japan to leave Manchuria. Japan refused, chosing to leave the League instead. -
United Nations formed
The United Nations was founded to replace the League of Nations after it failed to prevent World War II. Representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up a United Nations charter. -
League of Nations dissolved
The League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations in 1946. The League failed to resolve many conflicts that occured in the 1920s and 1930s. This was mainly due to the fact that it did not have its own military alliance, and was thus unable to stop the arms race that led to World War II. -
United Nations Success: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
After the second World War, the UN adapoted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document consisting of 30 articles that recognize the importance of protecting and promoting human rights. This document is often described as the "Most Translated Document," and has greatly influenced the United States and the global society. -
IMF rule: Currency Exchange
The IMF drafted new rules regarding currency exhange rates because of the collapse of the international gold standard and fixed exchange rate system. -
World Bank failure: Lesotho Freshwater
A project in Lesotho, sponsored by the World Bank among other banks, involved diverting freshwater in the mountains for electricity to sell to South Africa. This project cost $3.5 billion, but the electricity was too expensive for most people to buy, and the water diversion wreaked the water's downstream flow. In 2003 the program was shut down and courts convicted the 3 large firms involved. -
IMF/World Bank failure: Zambia
Zambia, a country which after gaining independence in 1964 had a relatively healthy economy based on the export of copper and the production of metal, benefitted from loans from the IMF and the World Bank, but the liberarilization of the Zambian economy led to a dramatic increase in public debt. After failing to secure new agreements with the IMF in 1987, they failed to secure further payments to the Zambian government, making the situation worse. -
UN prize: Peace
The United Nations peace keeping forces received the Nobel Prize for Peace. -
United Nations failure: Rwanda Genocide
The United Nations intervened in the Rwanda Genocide in Somalia to prevent civil war, sending 4,000 US troops to help fix the political system in Somolia. This all backfired though, as the government of Somalia remained fragmented and the Aideed were never captured. The UN lost credibility, and the US as well as other countries refused to provide help in fear of troops being killed and lost of the nation's reputation. -
Formation of World Trade Organization
The WTO (World Trade Organization) became the successor to the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) on the basis of multicorporation trade negotiations conduced by GATT members. As of 2010, there are 153 member-states in the WTO. -
China joins WTO
After 15 years of negotiations with the General Agreements on Tarriffs and Trade, China finally joined the WTO. This was the longest negotiation in the history of WTO. -
WTO/World Bank success: SPS standards
The United Sates donated US$ 100,000 to help developing countries analyse and implement international standards on food safety and animal and plant health, to mantain sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards. This donation is set up for the Standards and Trade Development Facility, and is set up jointly by World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
