The Foundations of the United Nations

The Origins and Foundations of the United Nations

The United Nations is an organization of many different countries that meet to negotiate and to solve world problems peacefully. The League of Nations created after World War I influenced the creators of the United Nations. In the aftermath of World War II, the Allied Powers wanted to create an organization similar to the League of Nations, but they wanted to avoid the mistakes made by the League of Nations. One of the reasons the League of Nations failed was that it did not include some of the world’s major powers such as the United States and Russia. In the United States, the League of Nations did not garner much congressional support. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to establish an organization to ensure world peace.

Roosevelt believed if the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China could work together, other countries would see the world’s superpowers working for a common cause, and join the organization. When France was added, it was decided these five nations would comprise the United Nation’s Security Council. The council had a permanent veto power, which meant they all would be able to reject legislation that came through the United Nations. When determining who would have specific power, the United States and United Kingdom ran into problems with Josef Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union. He wanted increased representation for the members of the Soviet Union. He demanded that all sixteen of the Soviet republics have seats in the United Nations. This would enable him to have more voting power. Both the United States and United Kingdom balked at this idea. America countered by proposing that all forty-eight states in America at that time would also get seats. Stalin withdrew his demand. The three countries agreed on a starting date for talks about the United Nations. Talks were scheduled for the San Francisco Conference on April 25, 1945. About two weeks beforehand, President Roosevelt suddenly died. Vice President Harry Truman was sworn in as president. He stated that the conference would go on as planned. Truman also was a strong supporter of the United Nations. He urged all Americans to support the idea of the United Nations.

Representatives from fifty countries attended the San Francisco Conference. Immediately, challenges arose. Three countries whose membership was problematic were Poland, Argentina, and the Ukrainian and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republics (UBSSR). The Soviet Union was opposed to Argentina’s membership. Argentina had been a strong supporter of the Axis Powers during World War II. Latin American countries wanted Argentina to be a member of the United Nations. They vowed to block Poland’s and the UBSSR’s admission if Argentina were not admitted. The United States mediated. It maintained that the countries were at the conference to ensure world peace and to develop working relationships with each other. Argentina and the UBSSR were seated quickly; however, Poland’s admission was not allowed until the conference was over. During the conference, the countries’ roles were defined. In addition, powers were given to the Secretary General. The Secretary General was responsible for informing the Security Council of conflicts among members. Still, the extent of the United Nations Security Council’s veto power remained unclear.

The Soviet Union thought once one of the countries on the Security Council vetoed a bill, the bill was dead. Some of the smaller countries in the General Assembly were concerned by the Soviet’s interpretation of U.N. procedures. They were concerned that none of their legislation would pass. Truman also was aware of the problem the Soviets were causing. He sent Harry Hopkins to Moscow to negotiate with Stalin. Hopkins had met with Stalin on many issues over the years. After much deliberation, the two men arrived at a compromise that would grant nations on the Security Council less extensive veto power. However, if the Security Council wanted to veto a certain bill, it would not need a unanimous vote to do so. They also agreed to add a sixth member to the Security Council. This membership would be for a one-year period and would rotate through the General Assembly. The San Francisco Conference closed on June 26, 1945, and President Truman attended the final session to witness signing of the United Nations charter. Truman was proud of all the countries’ efforts. The charter was sent to the United States Senate where it was approved in an eighty-nine to two vote. Only five senators abstained from voting. The United Nations was created officially on October 24, 1945, when a majority of the countries signed the charter.

Answer the following questions based on the reading: 

1. Who had the idea for the United Nations? What was his influence, and how did he want to learn from past mistakes?
2. What nations did Franklin D. Roosevelt think would be the primary members of the United Nations? These nations formed what body within the United Nations?
3. What problems did the United States and the United Kingdom confront with the Soviet Union? What was the solution?
4. Why was the San Francisco Conference almost delayed? Who insisted the conference proceed as planned?
5. What was one problem during the formation of the United Nations? What countries were targeted and why?
6. Why was the Soviet Union’s stance on its veto power problematic? How was this problem resolved?
7. What was the final vote on the United Nations Charter in the United States Senate? When was the organization officially created?