U.N. founded in 1945; New York headquarters opened in 1950.

"We shall beat our swords into plowshares." At the United Nations headquarters in New York City, those
words are inscribed on a statue of a man transforming a weapon into a plow. It is an appropriate motto for an organization deoted to world peace.

U.S. officials first suggested the idea of the United Nations during World War II. After the war, more than 50 countries agreed to establish a permanent organization dedicated to peace, human rights, international law, and social progress. In 1946, the Rockefellers, one of America's richest families, donated $8.5 million so the U.N. could buy land for its headquarters in New York. Then the U.S. loaned the U.N. $65 million to
cover construction costs. In 1950, the three-building complex along Manhattan's East river was complete.

In the Secretariat, a 39-story glass tower, the U.N. staff conducts the organization's daily actiities. Nearby
is a library and conference building. And at the northern end of the grounds is the General Assembly, the domed building where delegates from 185 nations meet to discuss the world's problems.

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