On April 12, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt died and Harry S. Truman became the thirty- third president of the United States. Shortly after Truman's ceremony, he was asked by the press whether or not if the conference in San Francisco, which was slated to kick off in less than two weeks, would still take place and he replied, "It was what Roosevelt had wanted and it had to take place if we were going to keep the peace." This was the very first decision made by the newly sworn in President. It was through two extraordinary conferences in Dumbarton Oaks from late August to early October of 1944 and in San Francisco from late April to late June of 1945 that forged into existence the United Nations (Meisler, 3). The deep-felt needs and intentions which inspired the founding of the United Nations are proclaimed in the preamble of the Charter, signed at the San Francisco on the June 26, 1945.
             The Dumbarton Conference was limited in numbers but not power. At the conference, only Britain, Russia, China, and the United States were present. At the San Francisco Conference, almost fifty governments met to ratify a U.N. charter that the "Big Four" had drafted. Although the U.N. is an international organization, the U.N. was mainly an American idea, and its structure today closely follows the plans prepared by American Diplomats during World War II (Meisler, 4).
             Despite the fact that the United Nations was not formed until the 1940's it was states that first established organizations to cooperate on specific matters. The International Telecommunication Union was founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union and the Universal Postal Union was established in 1874. Both are now U.N. specialized agencies (Owen, 28). In 1899, the International Peace Conference was
             held in Hague to elaborate instruments for settling crises peace fully preventing wars and codifying rules of warfare. The forerunner of the...