The development of the United Nations came in response to the world’s growing desperation for peace and prosperity after two world wars. An international body was first attempted in 1919 with the League of Nations. The League of Nations was to be an assembly where countries could meet and develop peaceful resolutions to world conflicts. The failure of the League, and yet another world war, motivated world leaders to once again attempt to organize an international forum.
The United Nations emerged from early coalitions of Allied forces during World War II. Three key meetings laid the groundwork for the future governing body, as the Allies signed declarations to join forces to end the rise and expansion of the Axis Powers. The Declaration of St. James’ Palace (1941) was the first Inter-Allied declaration, and it joined the multiple European, Asian and African countries in the fight against Adolf Hitler’s German forces and Emperor Hirohito’s Japanese forces. Within the same year, Great Britain and the United States would sign the Atlantic Charter, which served as a joint declaration by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt to work together in developing a better future. In January of 1942, 26 nations (including the United States) came together to sign the Declaration of United Nations, forming the coalition of countries that would defeat the Axis Powers. The three declarations would lay the founding principles of what would become the United Nations Charter.
As the war progressed, major world leaders recognized the need to develop an international organization that would provide a forum that would allow the monitoring and mediating of conflicts among nations. The organization would have multiple focuses, including humanitarian aid, education and security for its members from aggressive actions that threatened their way of life. The Moscow Declaration and Tehran Conference in 1943 provided the initial plans to bring an end to the war and provide the forum to preserve peace. The structure of the United Nations was formally outlined the following year in Washington D.C., when leaders from China, the U.S.S.R., United Kingdom and the United States drafted the model for the United Nations.
