1. The United Nations A Primer. Kevin Farrington, 2010

2. The Treaty of Versailles Germany is forced to accept sole responsibility for starting the war. Germany must make concessions and reparations to nations it harmed. Under the original treaty Germany would not have repaid its War Debt until 1988. Germany is not pacified or conciliated and in less than ten years the treaty is ignored…

3. The League of Nations Proposed after The Great War to give all nations a voice to prevent conflict. Member nations are unwilling to give up sovereignty for promised security. Germany is punished economically for WWI by France and Great Britain. The United States never joins due to opposition from Congress. Germany begins to militarize itself…

4. WWII Germany is not subject to international pressure because no international community exists to debate reactions to increasingly aggressive rhetoric. The United States, creator of the the League of Nations, has never joined as a member and thus is uninterested in the problems of Europe. This proves to be an exceptionally costly error for the United States, and for the world. Germany has the most advanced military in the world due to having lost everything in WWI and having reinvented their entire industrial base.

5. Forging the UN after WWII How can we prevent this World War from happening again? Where can we all meet if most of Europe is in ruins? Who should be able to be a member of these United Nations?

6. “I heart New York” Land for the United Nations Buildings is donated by the Rockefeller Family. Manhattan Island: Swanky and POSH for international diplomats… Close to Wall Street and international centers of trade. But… a neutral location?

7. Building the Building The land beneath the UN building is considered international territory. Built in 1949 and 1950. The US Government loaned 65 million dollars interest free to build the UN complex. A neutral location? New York?

8. The General Assembly 51 nations participated in the first assembly in 1946. There are 192 members today, 2/3 of which are developing nations. All member nations have equal representation. One of Six Principle Organs of the UN. Click on the icon to the right to hear an example of a diplomatic speech at the UN General Assembly.

9. Korea: A Police Action The first real test of the UN Develops into a Proxy War between the United States and The Soviet Union. A real threat of Nuclear War. End Result: Stalemate.

10. Differing Roles Police actions (Military interventions). Peacekeeping missions. Humanitarian Aid. –Famine Relief. –Natural Disaster aid –Protection for ethnic groups in violence prone areas. http://www.un.org/en/humanitarian/

11. Criticism of the United Nations A tool of Western Imperialism. Slow to act. Corruption. Peacekeepers fail to protect civilians in missions. Not all participating nations contribute their fair share.

12. Oil for Food The document to the right is a resolution by the UN Security Council calling for easing restrictions on Iraq to allow it to ‘trade’ oil for food. This program becomes a major source of corruption and embarrassment for the UN.The document to the right is a resolution by the UN Security Council calling for easing restrictions on Iraq to allow it to ‘trade’ oil for food. This program becomes a major source of corruption and embarrassment for the UN.

13. The UN in Africa Corruption of Peacekeeping forces. Mistreatment of civilians. Theft of food and humanitarian aid. Peacekeepers patrol areas, but do not actually investigate civilian situations. As a result, civilians are often attacked after a patrol passes by.

14. Has the UN helped us thus far? Has it had a chance? Period Conflict Related Deaths(millions) World Population Mid-Century (millions) Conflict related deaths as share of world population (%) Sixteenth Century 1.6493.3.32 Seventeenth Century 6.1579.11.05 Eighteenth Century 7.0757.4.92 Nineteenth Century 19.4 1172.91.65 Twentieth Century 109.72519.54.35 Source: Conflict deaths data, Slvard 1991,1996; twentieth century population data, UN 2005d; other population data, Human Development Report Office Interpolation based on Sykes 2004 (table B-10)

15. With the myriad threats in the world today, is the idea of the United Nations as important as the role it does or does not perform?With the myriad threats in the world today, is the idea of the United Nations as important as the role it does or does not perform?

16. How does the UN affect our daily lives in America? Peace? Benevolence? Cooperation? Human Rights?

17. Can it work? Or is our past also our future?