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The League of Nations The desire for worldwide peace did not begin with World War II and its aftermath. After all, there had already been one global war, and its effects were long lasting. The twenty-six nations’ leaders wanted a peacekeeping organization that would be more effective than its predecessor, the League of Nations. As World War I was winding down, leaders of the soon-to-be victorious countries met to establish an organization that could prevent the devastation caused by history’s first global war. Edward Grey, British foreign secretary (a position similar to that of the secretary of state in the United States), initially

proposed the idea of such an organization.U.S. president Woodrow Wilson enthusiastically threw his support behind the creation of the League of Nations,making it part of his famous “Fourteen Points for Peace.”He campaigned to include the formation of the League as part of the Treaty of Versailles, which would formally end World War I. Despite the fact that its president was instrumental in establishing the League of Nations, the United States did not join the League. Nevertheless, the League met in London in January 1920 to ratify the Treaty of Versailles (also referred to as the Treaty of Trianon). In November of the same year, it met in Geneva, Switzerland, where it set up its headquarters.

The creation of the League of Nations was part of President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points for Peace.”

For a variety of reasons, including the United States’ nonparticipation, member countries’ reluctance to enforce sanctions on countries that vio- lated the League’s policies, and its inability to prevent World War II, the League of Nations is considered a failure. However, it did increase the world’s appetite for an organization with real peacekeeping powers.

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The United Nations