United State president, Franklin D. Roosevelt created the name United Nations and it was first used in the "Declaration by United Nations on January 1, 1942. On October 24, 1945 the United Nations came to existence when 51 countries agreed to making peace. Today almost every country belongs to the United Nations.

The United Nations has four purposes:
1. To maintain international peace and security
2. To develop friendly relations among nations
3. To cooperate in solving international problems and promote respect for human rights
4. To be a center for harmonizing actions of nations

The United Nations has six main parts. Five of them are based at the UN headquarters in New York. They are: the General Assembly, the Security Council, The Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, and the Secretariat. The sixth part, the International Court of Justice, is located in The Hague, in the Netherlands.

The United Nations is not a world government and doesn't make laws. However, it does provide a way to help solve international conflict and creates policies on things that affect us all.

To learn more about the United Nations visit these sites:
http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/un_0007_bgn.html
http://www.un.org/
http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english/htmain.htm