The United Nations as we know it today was not formally organized until nearly the end of the Second World War. However, President Roosevelt coined this name for the powers allied against the Axis shortly after the entry of the United States into the war. The phrase was first used publicly in the “Declaration by the United Nations” signed by 26 Allied powers on 1 January 1942, declaring their intention to fight together against the Axis. For most of the duration of the war, the United Nations was simply a coalition of belligerent powers with little formal governing apparatus.
The Declaration by the United Nations was a short document citing the ideals of the Atlantic Charter of 14 August 1941. The signatories promised full support for the war against the Axis and pledged to make no separate peace.
Only those nations with hyperlinks made more than a token contribution to victory in the Pacific War.
The idea of a formal organization similar to the
prewar League of
Nations was mooted in 1943, and from August to October 1944 a
conference was held at Dumbarton Oaks, near Washington, D.C., to
discuss the charter of the new organization. The United States, the
United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China were represented. Not
coincidentally, these were the powers given permanent seats on the
Security Council. On 25 April 1945 a second conference was opened in
San Francisco, which
concluded with the signing of the U.N. Charter on
26 June 1945 by 51 nations. The new organization formally came into
existence with its ratification by the signatory powers on 24 October
1945, a little over a month after the surrender
by Japan, the last of the Axis powers.
References
Avalon
Project (accessed 2008-11-10)
The Pacific War Online
Encyclopedia (c) 2006-2007 by Kent G. Budge. Index