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Primary sourceArtifact30 November 1943

United Nations Organization Sketch by Franklin Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt · 30 November 1943

A pencil sketch FDR drew at the Tehran Conference showing his idea for a postwar United Nations enforced by 'Four Policemen'.

FDR drew this sketch himself at Tehran, recording his personal vision for the postwar United Nations.

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Pencil sketch on tan paper showing three oval circles across the top labeled '4 Policemen', 'Executive Council', and '40 U.N.', with notes below reading 'I20 - Health', 'Cyprus - Israel', 'By F.D.R. at Tehran Nov 30, 1943', and an underline.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, United Nations organization sketch, 30 November 1943.

About this source

What it is

This is a pencil sketch drawn by Franklin D. Roosevelt on November 30, 1943, while at the Tehran Conference. It shows his early idea for how the postwar United Nations organization should be structured.

Why it matters

The sketch shows three parts: an assembly of forty member states, an executive council dominated by major powers, and an enforcement branch Roosevelt called the 'Four Policemen' — the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, and China. It offers a rare glimpse of Roosevelt's personal thinking about how the great powers would keep peace after the Second World War, shaping the design of the later United Nations.

Look closer

  • Why did Roosevelt imagine only four countries as 'policemen'?
  • What does the sketch's informality suggest about how this idea was being developed?
  • How closely does the final United Nations structure match this early sketch?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Franklin D. Roosevelt on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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