THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS, 1945 Term Paper

Inspired by the universal vision of the League of Nations and promoted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill of Great Britain, the idea of a United Nations grew out of discussions among the Allied Powers during World War II. The first expression of the idea of a United Nations appeared in the Atlantic Charter of 1941. In addition to pledging the destruction of Nazi tyranny, the charter announced that Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want—would be the basis of a postwar new world order. In January 1942, at the Washington Conference, President Roosevelt for the first time used the words United Nations to identify the twenty-six nations pledged to defeat Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Although keenly interested in advancing military cooperation among the “Big Three” allied powers of Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States, Roosevelt did not invest much time in the organizational or political structure of the United Nations until 1944. At the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, held outside of Washington in 1944, Great Britain, China, the Soviet Union, and the United States established the general organization of the United Nations. The final draft of the UN Charter was completed on 26 June 1945.

Representatives of fifty nations signed this charter, which went into effect on 24 October 1945. The principal organs of the UN are a General Assembly, a Security Council, an Economic and Social Council, a Trusteeship, an International Court of Justice, and a Secretariat. Although virtually all countries have membership in the General Assembly, China, France, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States are the five permanent members of the Security Council and exercise a preponderance of influence in military and security issues. A veto by one of the five permanent members can halt a Security Council action or resolution.
Suggestions for Term Papers
1. Most Americans seem to support U.S. membership in the UN, but a significant number of Americans are opposed to UN membership. Write a paper recommending or opposing continued U.S. membership in the UN based on an investigation of the UN’s history.
2. Although President Roosevelt played an important role in establishing the UN, Eleanor Roosevelt was a delegate to the UN and drafted its statement on human rights in 1948. Do a research project on Mrs. Roosevelt’s work in the UN, particularly on her work in promoting human rights (see Suggested Sources).
3. Many observers argue today that the five permanent members of the Security Council (Great Britain, the People’s Republic of China, France, Russia, and the United States) should no longer have veto power in the Security Council, but that smaller, less powerful countries should have the same power. Evaluate the merits of this position and write an essay defending or refuting this suggestion (see Suggested Sources).
4. Some jurists argue that the International Court of Justice should be able to prosecute all leaders of governments, even the president of the United States, if they have been charged with crimes against humanity by the International Court. Assess the evidence in support of and against this argument and write an essay expressing your reasoned opinion.
5. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia has been a source of considerable controversy. Taking into account what the peacekeeping mission was intended to do and the circumstances in which it had to work, do a case study of the effectiveness of this peacekeeping mission.
6. Trygve Lie, Dag Hammarskjöld, U Thant, Kurt Waldheim, and Kofi Annan are among the better-known secretaries-general of the UN. Write a research paper evaluating the tenure as secretary-general of one of the above men (see Suggested Sources).

Research Suggestions

In addition to the boldfaced items, look under the entries for “The Korean War, 1950–1953” (#48), “The Six-Day War, 1967” (#66), “The Dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s” (#93), and “Genocide in Rwanda, 1994” (#95). Search under human rights and crimes against humanity.

SUGGESTED SOURCES

Primary Sources

Black, Allida, ed. Courage in a Dangerous World: The Political Writings of Eleanor Roosevelt. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. Affords a good understanding of Eleanor Roosevelt’s role in supporting the ideals of the UN.

Churchill, Winston S. The Second World War. 6 vols. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1948–1953. A lucid memoir showing how Churchill supported the idea of a United Nations.

Cordier, Andrew Wellington, ed. Public Papers of the Secretaries-General of the United Nations . New York: Columbia University Press, 1969. The first volume has the papers of Trygve Lie, the UN’s first secretary-general. Volume 2 has the papers of Dag Hammarskjöld, the UN’s second secretary-general.

Lie, Trygve. In the Cause of the Peace: Seven Years with the United Nations. New York: Macmillan, 1954. A good glimpse into launching the UN.

Roosevelt, Eleanor. Autobiography. New York: Harper, 1961. A candid account of her unflagging idealism.

Secondary Sources

Burns, James MacGregor. Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970. The best study of FDR’s approach to war and politics. Excellent bibliography and index.

Havel, Václav. “Kosovo and the End of the Nation-State.” New York Review of Books 46 (10 June 1999): 4–6. The president of the Czech Republic argues that the UN Security Council should reflect a “multipolar world,” and that the UN, not the nation-state, should shape international relations in the twenty-first century.

Iriye, Akira. Cultural Internationalism and World Order. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. A well-reasoned estimate of how the UN can advance peace in the twenty-first century.

Roberts, Adam. “Towards a World Community? The United Nations and International Law.” In The Oxford History of the Twentieth Century. Edited by Michael Howard and Wm. Roger Louis. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. A reliable summary of the UN’s first fifty years and a useful bibliography.