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The UN was meant to prevent another world war.

This political cartoon mocks the fact that the U.S. designed the League of Nations, then refused to join it, making it very weak.
This political cartoon mocks the fact that the U.S. designed the League of Nations, then refused to join it, making it very weak.
The process of embracing democracy, peace, and international cooperation that Germany was going through under Allied occupation was a process the U.S. wanted the whole world to go through. Two devastating world wars had been fought in the space of 30 years, and the 20th century had seen more bloodshed from international conflicts than any previous century. The introduction of atomic weapons only made it more necessary that another world war be prevented.

There had been an earlier attempt to prevent wars and promote cooperation: the League of Nations. But it had failed miserably, for many reasons. First, one of the most powerful nations in the world, the United States, had refused to join. Second, the League of Nations had no way to force its members to do what they were told to do. When the League condemned Japan's invasion of Chinese Manchuria in 1931, Japan simply ignored the League, and the League had no way to force Japan to leave Manchuria. This made the League powerless. Third, the League gave its most powerful positions to nations that had been the winners in World War I; Germany was not allowed to join until 1926. Many nations saw the League as nothing more than a set of powerful nations trying to boss other nations around. The League dissolved during World War II. There would have to be a better solution for peace after the war, and Allied leaders came up with a solution in 1945: the United Nations. Click through these tabs to learn about how the United Nations came to be.

The Declaration of United Nations

International
Organization
Conference

The Charter of the United Nations

The First Session

The Declaration of United Nations

In late December 1941, just after the U.S. had entered World War II, FDR and Winston Churchill drafted a "Declaration of United Nations." This document was signed in 1942 by 26 Allied nations, including the U.S., Britain, the Soviet Union, and China. The Declaration promised that those nations would cooperate with each other and offer their citizens full civil rights, including religious freedom, during and after the war.

By Credit: Nicholas Morant / National Film Board of Canada. Phototheque / Library and Archives Canada / C-047570 Photographer: Nicholas Morant [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Canadian delegates to the UN Conference in San Francisco.
The Big Three Allied leaders met in February 1945 at the Yalta Conference to plan for a peaceful post-war world. The idea of a more powerful League of Nations, called the United Nations or UN, was part of FDR's and Churchill's plan. In April 1945, before the war was over, the UN Conference on International Organization was held in San Francisco, California. Fifty nations attended the conference, which produced the Charter of the United Nations in June 1945.

The Charter of the United Nations

The Charter's Preamble dedicated the new UN and its member nations to affirm their faith in fundamental human rights, the dignity and worth of all people, and the equal rights of nations large and small. It also said the UN would ensure that armed force would not be used by member nations against each other.

By George Eisenman [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The UN Headquarters building in New York City.

The first session of the new UN was held in London in January 1946. The General Assembly (representatives from all member nations) voted to make New York City the permanent site of UN headquarters. The UN moved into its new building, shown in this photo, in 1952.

The UN headquarters were located in the U.S. because the U.S. was putting its full weight behind the new organization. FDR, then Truman, wanted to have the nations of the world united in their desire for peace so that they could counter the threat posed by the Soviet Union's clear determination to expand through violent conquest.

Discuss the development of the United Nations as a replacement for the League of Nations by typing an answer to each question below.

For what purpose was the League of Nations founded?

Did the League of Nations fulfill its purpose? How do you know?

In what ways did the United Nations need to be different in order to be more effective than the League of Nations?

Your Responses Sample Answers
  The League of Nations was founded to promote international peace and security after World War I.
  No. It failed in its chief purpose to keep the peace. World War II is evidence of that.
  The United Nations needed to have a way of enforcing its rulings so that it could have the power to prevent wars from happening.