Great Britain and the Creation of the League of Nations: Strategy, Politics, and International Organization, 1914-1919

288 Pages·1978·5.311 MB·English

by  George W. Egerton

Great Britain and the Creation
o f the League o f Nations
Supplementary Volumes to The Papers of Woodrow Wilson
Arthur S. Link» Editor
THE EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Katherine E. Brand
Henry Steele Commager, Emeritus
John Milton Cooper» Jr.
William H. Harbaugh
August Heckscher
Richard W. Leopold
David C. Meams» Emeritus
Arthur M. Schlesinger» Jr.
A list of volumes in this series will be found at the back
of the book.
Great Britain and the Creation
o f the League o f Nations
,
Strategy Politics, and International
Organization, 19 14 —1919
by George W. Egerton
The University of North Carolina Press
Chapel Hill
Copyright © 1978 by
The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
ISBN 0-8078-1320-6
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 77-17897
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Egerton, George W
Great Britain and the creation of the League of
Nations.
(Supplementary volumes to The papers of Woodrow
Wilson)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
i. League of Nations—Great Britain. 1. Great
Britain—Foreign relations—1910-19)6. I. Title.
II. Series: Wilson, Woodrow, Pres. U. S., 1856-1924.
Papers : Supplementary volume.
JX197SSG7E37 77'i7897
ISBN 0-8078-1320-6
For Mary Trevelyan
and
Friends at International Students House
London

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1 War and Liberalism:
The Birth of the League of Nations Idea 3
2 War and Diplomacy:
Grey and the League Idea, 19 14—1916 24
3 War and Ideology:
The League of Nations Movement, 1917 44
4 CeciVs War:
Searching for a Policy; 19 18 63
5 War Peace:
Preparing for the Peace Conference 81
6 War No More:
Drafting the Covenant no
7 The Peacemakers at War:
Revising the Covenant 141
8 War No More for Ten Years:
Retreat from the Covenant 170
9 Dilemmas of Security 200
Notes 207
Bibliography 239
Index 261

Acknowledgments
The author wishes to express gratitude to die following persons
and institutions for permission to use copyright material under their
control: The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (Crown
copyright material in the Public Record Office, London); the Mar­
quess of Lothian (papers of Philip Kerr, i ith Marquess of Lothian);
the Hon. Mrs. Butterwick and the Dowager Viscountess Davidson
(papers of Lord Willoughby H. Dickinson); Captain Stephen Ros-
kill, R.N. (papers of Lord Hankey); A. J. P. Taylor and the House of
Lords Record Office (papers of Lloyd George); Audrey Davis, secre­
tary, League of Nations Union (records of the League of Nations
Union); Gordon Phillips, archivist and researcher, the Times (pa­
pers of Wickham Steed, Arthur Willert, and Lord Northdiffe); Yale
University Library (papers of E. M. House and Sir William Wise­
man); and Professor A. K. S. Lambton (papers of Lord Robert Cecil).
Agnes Headlam-Morley provided information on the career of
her father; The Right Hon. Philip Noel-Baker kindly granted two
interviews; the late Sir J. R. M. Butler discussed with me his role in
the creation of the league and showed me papers in his possession;
and Sir Dennis Proctor made G. Lowes Dickinson's autobiography
available to me before its publication in 1973.
I am indebted to Harold I. Nelson, Michael G. Fry, James
Barros, Henry R. Winkler, Lawrence E. Gelfand, Arthur Walworth,
and Douglas Goold for comments on various stages and portions of
the manuscript. A spedal debt is owed to Arthur Link.
Research for this book was made possible by funds from the
Canada Council and support from die University of British Co­
lumbia.
tx