The Formation of the United Nations, and its
involvement in the Korean War
The Formation:
The idea:
The name "United Nations" was first used on January 1,
1942 during the "Declaration by United Nations." At this time, representatives
of 26 nations committed their government to continue fighting against the
Axis Powers.
Getting Started:
Representatives of 50 different countries made up The
United Nations Charter from April 25, 1945 to June 26, 1945. On June
26, 1945, representatives of those 50 countries signed the Charter.
Poland was not present at the signing, but would later sign; still
being able to be one of the 51 original Member States. On October
24, 1945, the Charter was ratified by China, France, Russia (which at the
time was the Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, the United States,
and by a majority of other countries. The United Nations, now, officially
existed.
The Main Function:
The main function of the United Nations is to keep world
peace. This may seem impossible, but the UN continues to attempt
it everyday. The branch of the United Nations that is primarily in
charge of this job, is the Security Council. This council consists
of five permanent members, and they are: Britain, China, France,
the United States, and Russia. Any major Security Council decisions
need to be approved by all five of the permanent members.
(left)Charter signed by the representatives of other countries, who
were the first to make up the United Nations.
(right)The first meeting of the General Assembly.
Involvement In Korea:
Two of the superpowers on the Security Council had divided
each other by their political backgrounds after World War II. The
countries were Russia, who supported communism, and the United States,
who was pro-republic. Since both countries had liberated parts
of Korea (Russia freed North Korea, and the U.S. had freed South Korea)
in 1945, it was no surprise that North Korea was communist, and South Korea
was pro- republic. In 1949, the UN was still trying to solve this
problem of division, but it was to hard to make demands on the Americans
and Russians. Finally, the UN was able to get the two superpowers
to take their forces out of Korea, leaving it divided at the 38th parallel.
On June 25, 1950, the UN was notified that North Korea had made an attack
on South Korea. The Security Council immediately met, and ordered
Korea to cease fire. When this did not work, the UN had sixteen nations
send troops and five send medical teams. By early October, the UN's
troops were able to force the North Koreans back to the 38th parallel.
The U.S. General Douglas Mac Arthur, who commanded the UN troops, led them
deep into North Korea, past the 38th parallel. The General wanted
to attack China; as a result, Chinese communists started fighting.
By 1953, the war had ended. Korea continues to be divided at the
38th parallel.