Letter from the Acting Secretary of the Department of State to H. M. Galdwyn Jebb, Executive Secretary, Preparatory Commission of the United Nations
12/28/1945
Add to Favorites:
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
This letter lists the representatives and alternate representative of the United States of America to the first part of the First Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. As early as 1942, leaders of the Allied countries had agreed to act as a united front against the aggression of the Axis powers. Later, at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in August 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt coined the term “united nations,” which eventually became the name of the international organization envisioned by the “Big Three” Allied leaders to keep world peace. When Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met at Yalta in February 1945, they agreed to meet with other friendly nations in San Francisco at the end of April to draft a charter for the new organization. Unfortunately, Roosevelt died less than two months after initial agreements were made and a mere two weeks before the conference convened. Vice President Harry Truman, largely inexperienced in international diplomacy, assumed the Presidency held so long by his predecessor and led the Nation through the diplomatic and political uncertainties that followed the end of World War II. Many people—men and women alike—thought that Franklin D. Roosevelt’s widow, Eleanor Roosevelt, would be an outstanding representative to the first meeting of the United Nations Assembly to be held in London in January 1946. She had been a spokesperson for numerous causes, including community service, civil rights, and international cooperation, during her husband’s administration. Women, especially those who had begun to assume increasingly demanding roles both at home and in the military, were particularly insistent that female candidates be seriously considered as delegates to the new United Nations. Many contended that women were predisposed by nature to seek peaceful means of resolving conflict. This letter identifies Mrs. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt as one the representatives of the United States in this international forum.
Text adapted from "Letter Proposing Candidates for the First UN Assembly" in the November/December 1994 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education.
Text adapted from "Letter Proposing Candidates for the First UN Assembly" in the November/December 1994 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education.
This primary source comes from the General Records of the Department of State.
National Archives Identifier: 6235150
Full Citation: Letter from the Acting Secretary of the Department of State to H. M. Galdwyn Jebb, Executive Secretary, Preparatory Commission of the United Nations; 12/28/1945; 501.BB/12-2145 to 501.BB/1-246 [1/2]; Central Decimal Files, 1910 - 1963; General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/letter-from-the-acting-secretary-of-the-department-of-state-to-h-m-galdwyn-jebb-executive-secretary-preparatory-commission-of-the-united-nations, April 25, 2024]Rights: No Known Copyright Learn more on our privacy and legal page.