Michelle Singleton, age 13, of Patterson, N.J., for her question:
HOW WAS THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZED?
As World War II was going on, a number of important meetings were held that eventually led to the founding of the United Nations. The first was one held by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It was called the Atlantic Charter and it was signed in 1941.
The Atlantic Charter suggested that many of the allied nations of the world start a "permanent system of general security." It also outlined a set of principles of peace that later became part of the U.N. Charter.
Twenty six nations met is Washington, D.C.. on Jan. 1, 1942, and signed a declaration accepting the principles of the Atlantic Charter. They also promised to defeat the Axis powers. The agreement was called the "Declaration by the United Nations." This is the first time the name "United Nations" was used.
The United States, the United Kingdom, China and the U.S.S.R. met in Moscow in October of 1943 and signed the Moscow Declaration, which recognized a need for setting up a general international organization to keep the peace.
In July, 1944, an international monetary conference was held at Bretton Woods, N.H , with 44 nations attending. They agreed to set up the Bank sad the Fund.
At Dumbarton Oaks later that year China, the U.S.S.R., the United Kingdom and the United States drew up proposals for a world organization. These proposals became the basis of the U.N. Charter.
The 1945 Yalta Conference, attended by Roosevelt, Churchill and Joseph Stalin of the U.S.S R., outlined plans for the United Nations San Francisco Conference. The three also drafted a proposal for the Security Council's voting procedure.
The U.N. Conference on International Organization was held in San Francisco in April, 1945. Representatives of 50 nations attended. Poland was an original U.N. member although it didn't have a representative at the San Francisco meeting.
Fifty one original members, including Poland, signed the U.N. Charter.
The United Nations officially came into being on Oct. 24, 1945, after the United States, the United Kingdom, the U.S.S.R., China, France and a majority of the other nations ratified the Charter.
A Preparatory Commission was formed to set up a working organization at the same time that the charter was signed.
On Jan. 10, 1946, the General Assembly opened its first session in London, England, with the representatives of all 51 participating nations is attendance.
In August, 1946, the assets of the defunct League of Nations were transferred to the U.N. And in December of the same year the Americas John D. Rockefeller Jr. gave $8.5 million to be used toward the purchase of East River property in New York City as the United Nation's permanent headquarters.