United Nations The term United Nations was first used by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his "Declaration by United Nations," on January 1, 1942. In the declaration, representatives of 26 nations pledged to fight together against the Axis powers during the Second World War. Following a meeting at Yalta, a resort in southern Russia, 50 countries met together at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in 1945, where they drew up the United Nations Charter, which was signed on June 26, 1945 by the 50 countries. The UN officially came into existence on October 24, 1945, the charter having been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries. The preamble to the charter reads: We the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save future generations from the scourge of war which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women, and of nations large and small . . . have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims. . . . Our respective governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco . . . do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations. The United Nations consists of two main bodies: the General Assembly and the Security Council. The General Assembly included delegates from all the charter countries, and allowed new members to join, with a vote of approval from two-thirds of the General Assembly. The General Assembly was to meet annual, and its tasks included to create a budget, receive annual reports from UN agencies, and to choose the members of the Security Council and other bodies. The Security Council is primarily responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. It functions continuously, and a representative form each of its members is present at all time at the United Nations' headquarters. The security council began with eleven members- five permanent and six elected by the General Assembly for two year terms. For more information on the United Nations: The United Nations Web Page Untied Nations Charter NATO NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and was established to bind Western Europe and the United States together in a common defense alliance against the communist Soviet Union and its allies. As Communist parties began to rise everywhere and Eastern European nations were absorbed into the Soviet sphere of influence, Western Europe and the United States began to develop a plan for assistance. A 50-year collective defense alliance, known as the Brussels Treaty, was established on March 17, 1948 by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. However, it was realized that without the assistance of the United States to treaty was not strong enough militarily. An enlarged collective defense arrangement was signed on April 4, 1949 in Washington D.C. The initial signatories were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The government of NATO is vested in the North Atlantic Council (NAC), which is made up of representative from the 16 member nations. The highest military authority in NATO is the Military Committee, which is composed of representatives of all the armed forces of member nations except for France and Iceland. NATO has three regional commands: the European Command, led by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR); the Atlantic Command, led by the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT); and the Channel Command, led by the Allied Commander in Chief Channel (CINCHAN). An American admiral has always had the post of SACLANT, and the British have always controlled the CINCHAN command. NATO homepage Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Union's answer to NATO. Its full title is the Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance. It began when, in 1955, the Soviet Union wanted to establish a strong alliance to defend against any military or economic threats from the West, and to strengthen its hold over its Eastern European satellites. The treaty was signed on May 14, 1955 by the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland, and Romania. Part of the treaty included the stationing of Soviet troops and weaponry in Eastern Europe, so that the Soviets could maintain strict control. The presence of these troops led to a revival of nationalism and hostility toward the Soviet Union in several countries, especially Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. In 1956, the Soviet troops quickly put down an uprising in Hungary, and in 1968 Warsaw Pact troops were sent into Czechoslovakia after that nation's government began to lift restraints on personal freedom. Soviet troops were withdrawn from Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia in 1990, in accordance with Gorbachev's reform policies. The Warsaw Pact's military structure disbanded on March 31, 1991 and the political arm agreed to disband three months later. US-China Relations In the late 1920's and early 30's, China was a republic lead by Chiang Kai-Sheck that was opposed to communism. The students and workers were unhappy about the situation in China and saw communism as a means to fix it. Chiang was against this and in 1927 he had more than 3000 communists killed. Mao Zedong, who later became the communist party leader in China, led a march out of China. It lasted two years and although 90,000 left, only a few thousand came back but it gained support for communism. In the late 1940's the communist party took advantage of the public's distrust in Chiang. They took rich people's land and gave it to the peasants. The communists introduced medicine, education, and raised the status of women. Soon the Communists drove Chiang out and Mao Zedong became the leader of China. Chiang went to Taiwan and continued the Republic of China while the Communists made China "The People's Republic of China". By 1962, China started to position itself as the 'other' superpower. The US made attemts to meet with China because as the largest power in the world and the controller of the spread of communism. Nixon met with Chinese Prime Minister Mr. Chou En-lai, the communist leader that replaced Mao Zedong, in February, 1972. This broke the tensions that were building since the beginning of the Cold War. Throughout the war in Vietnam, there was fear that China might get involved by backing up the Vietcong, our enemy. This meeting gave the american people the assurance that the relations between China and the U.S. was fine. For more information on China and the Cold War: The Cold War isn't Over Main Page | Conflict | Government | People | Technology | Game | End of War