U.S. Joins United Nations: Commitment to Global Peace
The U.S. Senate voted 65 to 7 on December 4, 1945, to approve American participation in the United Nations, reversing the isolationist tradition that had kept the nation out of the League of Nations 25 years earlier. The vote was bipartisan, with strong support from both Democrats and Republicans. Senator Arthur Vandenberg, a former isolationist who had been converted by Pearl Harbor, was instrumental in building Republican support. The UN Charter had been signed in San Francisco on June 26, 1945, by 50 nations. The United States became the host country, and the UN headquarters was built in New York on land donated by John D. Rockefeller Jr. American membership, with its permanent Security Council seat and veto power, ensured that the new international organization would not suffer the same fate as the League.
December 4, 1945
81 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on December 4
A Roman officer discovers his daughter has converted to Christianity. He locks her in a tower. She escapes, gets baptized, returns. He drags her before the pref…
Carloman was 20 when he died. His widow fled immediately to Italy with their sons — she knew what was coming. Charlemagne absorbed his brother's kingdom before …
Emperor Otto I forced the election of the lay official Leo VIII to the papacy, asserting imperial control over the Roman Church. This move deposed the incumbent…
The Crusaders starved Sidon for 47 days. No relief came from Egypt. No help arrived from Damascus. The city's Muslim governor finally opened the gates on Decemb…
King Baldwin I of Jerusalem captured the coastal city of Sidon with the support of a Norwegian fleet led by King Sigurd the Crusader. This victory secured a vit…
Baldwin I of Jerusalem and Sigurd the Crusader of Norway seize Sidon, securing a vital coastal foothold that expands Frankish control along the Levantine shore.…
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