The League of Nations and the United Nations

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, although the U. S. failed to support the League of Nations, America supported the United Nations because the supreme national interest of America was to obtain a world atmosphere in which the United States could grow its inner social values devoid of undue commotion or danger from the outside. The author points out that collective action via the United Nations instead of unilateral action was considered politically viable on key political issues. The paper concludes that the League of Nations and the United Nations disappointed hopes the following the two world wars because, in no way, can they be an autonomous political power; at best, the U.N. is a mirror image of the opposing interest of autonomous states.

Table of Contents
Introduction
America's Rejection to Support the League of Nations
The Historical Background
The Fundamental Principals that Lead to the Rejection of the League of Nations
America's Support for the United Nations
Using United Nations to Achieve the Goals of American Foreign Policy
The Fundamental Goal of Military Security
The Fundamental Goal of Political Security:
The Fundamental Goal of Stability and Welfare
The Fundamental Goal of World Order
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"In the United States of America the major disagreement on both the groundwork venture and the refined Covenant of the League of Nations had been on the base that the League would function as an intrusion with the sovereignty of America and with the Monroe principle, that it concerned desertion of the traditional American policy, which had not been in favor of entrapped coalitions, and that the government did not have the power, within its Constitution, to insert such an agreement . Independence has revealed to be just so much freedom of action on the behalf of countries as is coherent with their responsibility, within international law and principles, to authorize the application of uniform independence or freedom of action by their sister countries. The League agreement had assured all States in their application of this sovereignty free from coercion by other Countries, and he who desires more is actually in search of the authorization thoughtlessly to ignore these commitments -- to refuse, for instance, the fair rulings of a properly established tribunal -- which is the German perception of independence."

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