United Nations History

As World War II was about to end in 1945, nations were in ruins, and the world wanted peace. Representatives of 50 countries gathered at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, California from 25 April to 26 June 1945. For the next two months, they proceeded to draft and then sign the UN Charter, which created a new international organization, the United Nations. It was hoped that this organization would prevent another world war like the one they had just lived through. Now, more than 75-years later, the United Nations continues to work to solve the global issues that individual nations cannot address alone.  

These collections document the founding of the United Nations and the development of the Organization.