In 1899 and again in 1907, international conventions were held in The Hague, the Netherlands. At the convention of 1899, an agreement was adopted for the “Pacific [peaceful] Settlement of International Disputes.” So as the 20th century dawned, many hoped that the world would gradually outgrow its penchant for waging war. Such hopes, however, were shattered by the guns of the first world war.

A Peace Organization

Once peace was declared in 1918, an embittered generation demanded that steps be taken to ensure that such a war could never happen again. Thus, the League of Nations was born in 1919. But the League was a great disappointment. In 1939 the world was again plunged into world war​—a war that was even more deadly than the first.

In World War II, many cities were reduced to rubble, turning civilian life into a nightmare. Then in 1945 atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ushering man into the nuclear age. The hideous mushroom clouds that rose over those two Japanese cities were harbingers of a threat that has hung over mankind ever since.

However, even before those bombs fell, preparations were being made for setting up an organization like the defunct League of Nations. The result was the United Nations Organization, which basically had the same objective as its predecessor​—that of maintaining world peace. What has it achieved? Well, there has been no world war since 1945, but there have been numerous smaller wars in which millions of people have died.