FDR and the Creation of the U.N. [Hardcover]

Townsend Hoopes (Author), Professor Douglas Brinkley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 1997

In recent years the United Nations has become more active in - and more generally respected for - its peacekeeping efforts than at any other period in its 50-year history. During the same period, the United States has been engaged in a debate about the place of the UN in the conduct of its foreign policy. This book tells a story and also provides a historical perspective on the controversy. Historians Townsend Hoopes and Douglas Brinkley explain how the idea of the United Nations was conceived, debated and revised, first within the US government and then by negotiation with its major allies in World War II. The experience of the war generated increasing support for the new organization throughout American society and the UN Charter was finally endorsed by the community of nations in 1945. The story largely belongs to President Franklin Roosevelt, who was determined to form an organization that would break the cycle of ever more destructive wars (in contrast to the failed League of Nations), and who therefore assigned collective responsibility for keeping the peace to the five leading UN powers - the major wartime allies. Hoopes and Brinkley focus on Roosevelt but also present portraits of others who played significant roles in bringing the UN into being: these include Cordell Hull, Sumner Welles, Dean Acheson, Harry Hopkins, Wendell Willkie, Thomas Dewey, William Fulbright and Walter Lippmann. In an epilogue, the authors discuss the checkered history of the United Nations and considers its future prospects.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

At a time when it is fashionable to declare the United Nations as part of the problem, rather than the solution, to international conflicts, two noted historians lucidly explain how the original objective of the body has been lost among indecision, ideological quarreling, and a lack of clear leadership. In FDR and the Creation of the U.N., Townsend Hoopes and Douglas Brinkley examine the inception of the U.N. and chart its rocky history, identifying FDR as the primary player in the creation of the assembly.

In citing the U.N.'s biggest problems, the authors do not call for disbanding the body. Instead, in keeping with FDR's original vision, they offer solutions for improvements and insights. The challenges are formidable, however, as even daily operations are stalled due to the debt of $3.3 billion owed by U.N. members. The authors pay particular attention to the United States' responsibility for international peacekeeping. To make the U.N. effective, they argue, the U.S. must not only pay its share of the debt, but accept the fact that it has the military and political power to create results--if only it chooses to do so.

From Library Journal

Hoopes and Brinkley (Dean Acheson: The Cold War Years, LJ 11/1/92) offer a short history of the formation of the United Nations. They trace decades of interplay between idealism and realpolitik, from the League of Nations, through World War II and postwar diplomacy and planning, to the U.N.'s birth in 1945 in San Francisco. In a preface, the coauthors state their hope that "more reasoned, more consistent" U.S. support of the U.N. will result from an understanding of the decisive role played by Franklin Roosevelt and other Americans in its creation; yet they express doubt, in an epilog, that the organization will achieve the reforms needed to win that support. In between, the authors deliver a fine narrative based largely on familiar secondary sources, such as Ruth B. Russell's History of the United Nations Charter (Brookings, 1958) and Robert A. Divine's Second Chance (LJ 4/1/67). Most useful to libraries serving undergraduates.?Robert F. Nardini, North Chichester, N.H.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (March 27, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300069308
• ISBN-13: 978-0300069303
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,621,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed book for anyone seriously interested, July 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: FDR and the Creation of the U.N. (Hardcover)

While this book would be leisure reading to only the most dedicated UN or FDR follower, it is one of the best books I could find for a report on the subject. The book is quite thorough and the different aspects the authors discussed gave me a greater understanding of the process. Many of the decisions made prior to the creation of the UN were delicate with the opposing desires of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. This book explains how Roosevelt contributed along with other factors that affected his moves including early influences from Wilson's League of Nations. Although this book would not be for everybody, it is a must read for those with a genuine intrest--or a school report--on this subject.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book on the Purpose of the U.N. and Today's Issues, April 11, 2004

By 

T. Carlsen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: FDR and the Creation of the U.N. (Paperback)

60 million people died in World War II. 18 million died in World War I. The financial costs were huge. Franklin Roosevelt was determined to prevent a third world war, and to foster stability and prosperity in the world. His plan worked, though the U.N. has not unfolded as he envisioned.

This insightful book examines the creation of the U.N. and today's issues. Below is an abbreviated review by H-Net I found on the Internet:
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Reviewed by Matthew S. Magda, Sacred Heart University.
Published by H-USA (December, 1997)
FDR and the Creation of the U.N.

The United Nations has received renewed attention since the end of the Cold War. In the early 1990s, especially following the success of the U.N.-authorized coalition against Iraq's military seizure of Kuwait, hopes rose among internationalists that the United Nations would now play its proper role as primary deterrent of international aggression. No longer fettered by the rivalry between the most powerful members of its Security Council, the United Nations could begin functioning as the guarantor of international peace and prosperity...

Currently, Americans are involved in both rational and emotionally-charged discussions about the future role of the United Nations and its potential impact on U.S. foreign policy... There are those who argue that a strong United Nations is essential because it will serve the long-term interests of the United States to have an institution with legitimate international credentials to turn to for help in settling conflicts and subduing threats to global stability. This latter view is shared by the authors of FDR and the Creation of the U.N.

In the Preface of their book, Townsend Hoopes and Douglas Brinkley tell readers that they hope to add needed historical perspective to the current debate on the future role of the United Nations. They believe that by doing so, they will remind Americans and others of the vital role played by Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States in the creation of the United Nations. Finally, they seek to elevate understanding and discussion so that Americans would come to a more reasoned and consistent support for an institution which "embodies the highest hopes of mankind"

Hoopes and Brinkley explain how the failure of the League of Nations shaped the ideas of FDR and American policymakers... The absence of a strong League enabled aggressor states to pursue expansionist policies which eventually led to World War II. Therefore, FDR was determined that the mistakes of the past would be avoided. He wanted the United States to be a leader in the formation of a postwar international security organization.

... Hoopes and Brinkley believe that international peace depends on the formula first developed by FDR: a United Nations organization firmly backed by the United States. Such a formula worked well to deter aggression in Korea in the early 1950s and in the Persian Gulf in the 1990s.

FDR and the Creation of the U.N. is well written and its central idea persuasively argued. Readers will especially appreciate its tight organization with ample headings to identify topics or issues...

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