REMEMBER: with this type of question it is not so much WHAT you say but HOW you say it. This response was written by a fifth form boy in 2006 - he went on to get an A* although this response is by no means perfect. Look through it and see whether you can make suggestions on how it could be improved.

Which was more important as a reason for the failure of the League of Nations: its handling of the Manchurian crisis 1931-2 or its handling of the Abyssinian Crisis 1935-6. (10 marks)

I would argue that the Manchurian Crisis was the main reason for the failure of the League because it showed that if a permanent member went against the rules then it could not be stopped. 

The crisis arose when Japan blamed China for blowing up its railway in Manchuria. When the Japanese invaded Manchuria the League appeared to take some action by sending Lord Lytton to the region on a fact-finding mission. However, the League lost face because Lytton took a year to report back to the League that Japan was indeed the aggressor in this case and, as each day had passed, the Japanese had become increasingly entrenched in Manchuria.  The incident was a huge blow to the League because it was unable to make Japan withdraw.  Economic sanctions were useless because Japan could trade with the USA who was not in the League and no military action was taken because Japan was so far away from Europe. The consequences of failure meant not only a loss of prestige, but also involved a direct threat to European colonies e.g. Singapore, in the Far East.  As a result of this incident Japan left the League of Nations, thereby weakening it even further.

The Abyssinian Crisis was also a failure for the League because it again proved that the League was powerless against a permanent member.  Oil sanctions were not used and in any case would have failed because America lowered the price of her oil.  Coal sanctions were not put into place because the British did not want to destroy their own market.  Britain and France did not use military sanctions or block the Suez Canal because they wanted Mussolini on their side against Hitler.

Overall I feel that the Manchurian Crisis was the more important reason for the failure of the League because it was the first major event that made people realise that the League was powerless. The invasion of Manchuria highlighted the fact that the League was neither able nor willing to act decisively when dealing with aggressors, particularly when they were powerful members of the League.  It showed that without America, France and Britain were too weak to impose the League.  Abyssinia was also a key event in the failure because it was the final straw that finished the League.  It involved a European country so people took more notice of it.  The British and French were too weak and self-interested and even tried to solve the problem of Abyssinia by acting outside the League and making a secret agreement with Mussolini to divide Abyssinia.  When this was made known it made both countries unpopular and led to the resignation of their foreign ministers who had made the pact.  This betrayal guaranteed the failure of the League.