Entry in the Worldwide Online Encyclopedia (WOE), Edited on January 19th of 2025
The League of American Nations (Spanish: Liga de las Naciones Americanas, Portuguese: Liga das Nações Americanas, French: Ligue des Nations Américaines) or the LAN or LNA is an organization that was founded on June 1st of 1825. Encompassing nations in the Americas, the LAN was founded with the intent to create close economic and military ties between the newly installed republics in Central and South America, and the United States. Headquartered in Ciudad de Libertad in the Federal Republic of Central America, the LAN has evolved to become one of the most formidable power blocs on Earth, promoting democracy and economic development in its member states and abroad.
The original charter for the League of American Nations was created in 1824 when President Joseph Crockett of the United States sought to create a united organization for the Western Hemisphere. After the fall of the Spanish Empire in the Americas and the rise of various countries in its place, regional rivalries started to hamper the development of many young American nations (the Argentina Civil War, the Ecuadorian Uprisings, the Chile-Bolivia Crisis). As such, President Crockett, despite his conservative beliefs, believed that an organization encompassing the entirety of the Americas was necessary to promote cooperation and friendship between the new nations. After a year of negotiations and discussion, the charter for the LAN was officially ratified by six nations in Columbia (all six are considered the founding members of the League):
1. United States of America
2. Mexican Republic
3. First Haitian Republic
4. Federal Republic of Central America
5. Republic of Argentina
6. Republic of Colombia (formerly known as the Republic of Venezuela)
The charter for the League of American Nations consisted of two important parts that led to some of the founding nations to sign the document. The first part (from Article 1 to 3) consisted of an economic treaty that tied the nations together. Under the terms of the LAN charter, a common market was developed between the member states, creating the freedom of movement of factors of production (capital and labor) and enterprises, and promoting free trade areas with no tariffs.* Additionally, the LAN charter affirmed America's commitment to the League and granted economic aid to its member states. These terms allowed companies and workers in the LAN to move between the member states freely and formed incentives for local investors to support companies and projects elsewhere. After the ratification of the treaty, the United States designated Sovtaj and New Orleans as the free trade areas, while other nations followed with one or two specific regions/cities as their free trade zones. This immediately led to American companies expanding their operations into the LAN members and developing the economies of said nations (mainly in Mexico and Central America). Haiti, which already had close economic ties with the United States and its close proximity to a hostile power (see The French Empire) saw little economic change after the ratification of the charter. However, the other members of the LAN benefited extensively from the economic pact signed between them and the United States. The Republic of Colombia, which relied heavily on its exports of cocoa for its economy, found eager buyers in the United States, which allowed them to recover economically after the destructive Venezuelan Revolution and the First and Second Invasions of New Granada. It also bought time for the nation to develop its agricultural and industrial sectors, with the help of American investors and experts. Similarly, Mexico managed to recover from the fallout of its own independence war (the Mexican Independence War) rapidly due to American investments and aid (though, at the cost of its own domestic industry for the first several decades after its independence). After railroads from the American East Coast started to move westward, Mexico saw the development of its own railroad industry due to American efforts. This, in turn, connected the two nations closer than ever...
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According to Article 3 of the League of American Nations Charter, the headquarters of the League was to be based in a city in the Federal Republic of Central America (due to its central location). After the ratification of the charter, the FRCA requested additional economic aid to build an entirely new city for its future capital and League headquarters. The official justification for the project was made on the grounds that the FRCA was still a period of uncertainty and a new city, based in a central location of the FRCA, was needed to prevent regionalism from breaking the nation apart. The United States agreed to aid the Federal Republic of Central America in its efforts to build said city and plans were drawn up by the former designers of Columbia (Andrew Ellicott and Tadeusz Kosciuszko). Within a year, they managed to survey the proposed area of the city and finish the layout of "Ciudad de Libertad." By 1828, construction for the new city began and it was completed fourteen years later (due to the Anglo-American War delaying the construction of the city). When it officially opened in 1842, Ciudad de Libertad served as the capital of the FRCA (the seat of the Federal Congress) and the headquarters of the League of American Nations. Unintentionally, the creation of the city saw the rise of American investments into the region, as American companies started to build railways in the nation to connect the headquarters of the League to the United States overland and develop the agricultural sector for coffee. Along with the FRCA (and many other member states) sending students to study in the United States and the importation of American experts to assist in the development of the economy, these factors played a crucial role in the stabilization and unity of the Federal Republic (which experienced political turbulence until the late 19th century)...
Argentina was isolated and received much less economic support than the other American nations. However, they also saw significant investments into its economy (particularly in its arms industry due to the isolated nature of the nation and the hostile powers surrounding it) and Argentina managed to grow its domestic industry ahead of any other nation except the United States itself...
The second part of the Charter (Article 4 to 5) consisted of a defensive and military pact between the member states. The presence of European nations (especially Britain) in the Americas was not unnoticed by the various American nations. Indeed, Great Britain played a large part in pitting the Federal League against Argentina in the Argentina Civil War, which caused the death of thousands and the secession of the Federal League from Buenos Aires. As such, the member states were keen on receiving protection from the United States. Unsurprisingly, Article 4 outlined a mutual defense clause for the member states, stating that an attack on one nation was an attack on all the nations of the League. Additionally, Article 5 stated that the League would adopt weapons with similar designs and schematic (as an effort to standardize weapons and usage across the League of American Nations), along with greater military cooperation (such as military exercises between the members) to create a unified "American" force to defend the Americas in case of a foreign invasion. This section of the Charter was controversial in the United States. However, due to great efforts made by President Crockett and the Frontier Party, it was accepted and placed in the final draft of the League's Charter. This section of the Charter would receive widespread support in the United States following the League's involvement in the Anglo-American War and its crucial part in the defense of the United States during the European Invasion of America...
Today, the League of American Nations consists of every nation in the Americas and six observers (the Icelandic Republic, the Federal Republic of South Africa, the Second Republic of Spain, the Second French Republic, and the Kingdom of Portugal). Various American nations joined the League during the 19th and 20th centuries. The total GDP of the League today is estimated to be around $80 trillion (with the United States alone having a GDP of $48 trillion dollars). The combined forces of the League of American Nations have around 6,000,000 military personnel (with the LAN being the biggest contributor to the peacekeeping forces of the Organization of Independent States)...