The Development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

This collection focuses on the creation of and United States participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The collection includes documents covering the years 1948 through 1952. Supporting materials include photographs, oral history transcripts, a chronology of events and other links.

Documents

1949

North Atlantic Treaty, April 4, 1949 (NAID: 348806325)
Part of:
- recordGroup: General Records of the United States Government, 1778 - 2006 (NAID: 340)
- Series: Treaties, Agreements, and Other International Acts for Which the United States is the Depositary Government, 1943 - 1984 (NAID: 3999997)
- File Unit: 1949 NATO Treaty: Signed Original (NAID: 348806323)
Memorandum from James H. Burns to Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson with Attachments, September 1949 (NAID: 313172762)
Part of:
- Collection: President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1960 (NAID: 1205)
- Series: General Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 602190)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty (NAID: 876490)
Memorandum from Stanley Woodward to Matthew Connelly, March 28, 1949 (NAID: 313172760)
Part of:
- Collection: President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1960 (NAID: 1205)
- Series: General Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 602190)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty (NAID: 876490)
Telegram from Secretary of State Dean Acheson, March 8, 1949 (NAID: 313172755)
Part of:
- Collection: President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1960 (NAID: 1205)
- Series: General Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 602190)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty (NAID: 876490)
Telegram from Secretary of State Dean Acheson, March 1949 (NAID: 313172750)
Part of:
- Collection: President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1960 (NAID: 1205)
- Series: General Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 602190)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty (NAID: 876490)
Memorandum, Proposed North Atlantic Security Arrangement, January 1949 (NAID: 313172734)
Part of:
- Collection: President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1960 (NAID: 1205)
- Series: General Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 602190)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty (NAID: 876490)
Memorandum from Secretary of State Louis Johnson to President Harry S. Truman, December 20, 1949 (NAID: 313172732)
Part of:
- Collection: President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1960 (NAID: 1205)
- Series: General Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 602190)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty (NAID: 876490)
Letter from Clark Clifford to William Southern, Jr., September 9, 1949 (NAID: 301669480)
Part of:
- Collection: Clark M. Clifford White House Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1951 (NAID: 598548)
- Series: Clark M. Clifford's Subject Files, 1945 - 1951 (NAID: 598550)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Pact: [4 of 5]; North Atlantic Treaty (NAID: 1766723)
Press Release, Toast of President Harry S. Truman at the State Dinner for Atlantic Pact Signers, April 4, 1949 (NAID: 301669478)
Part of:
- Collection: Clark M. Clifford White House Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1951 (NAID: 598548)
- Series: Clark M. Clifford's Subject Files, 1945 - 1951 (NAID: 598550)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Pact: [4 of 5]; North Atlantic Treaty (NAID: 1766723)
Memorandum from Carlisle Humelsine to Matthew Connelly with Attachment, August 23, 1949 (NAID: 296761913)
Part of:
- Collection: Official Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 1202)
- Series: Official Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 201124)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty, OF 66 (NAID: 725419)
Memorandum from Charles I. Bevans with Related Material, July 1949 (NAID: 296761906)
Part of:
- Collection: Official Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 1202)
- Series: Official Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 201124)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty, OF 66 (NAID: 725419)
State Department Press Release, Address of Secretary of State Dean Acheson, March 19, 1949 (NAID: 296761897)
Part of:
- Collection: Official Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 1202)
- Series: Official Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 201124)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty, OF 66 (NAID: 725419)
State Department Press Release, Transcript of Broadcast, March 18, 1949 (NAID: 296761886)
Part of:
- Collection: Official Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 1202)
- Series: Official Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 201124)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty, OF 66 (NAID: 725419)
Memorandum from W. J. McWilliams to William D. Hassett, with Attachment and Related Material, March 1949 (NAID: 296761438)
Part of:
- Collection: Official Files (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 1202)
- Series: Official Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 201124)
- File Unit: North Atlantic Treaty - Miscellaneous, OF 66 (NAID: 294901041)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, June 22, 1949 (NAID: 201681583)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: May - August, 1949 (NAID: 1701901)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, June 10, 1949 (NAID: 201673364)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: May - August, 1949 (NAID: 1701901)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, June 8, 1949 (NAID: 201673362)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: May - August, 1949 (NAID: 1701901)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, June 7, 1949 (NAID: 201673361)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: May - August, 1949 (NAID: 1701901)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, April 5, 1949 (NAID: 201388504)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, March 21, 1949 (NAID: 201384669)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, March 15, 1949 (NAID: 201384664)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, March 9, 1949 (NAID: 201384656)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, March 7, 1949 (NAID: 201384652)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, March 2, 1949 (NAID: 201384649)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, February 28, 1949 (NAID: 201384647)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, February 15, 1949 (NAID: 201384639)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, February 3, 1949 (NAID: 201383558)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, February 2, 1949 (NAID: 201383557)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, January 27, 1949 (NAID: 201383553)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, January 10, 1949 (NAID: 201383532)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, January 7, 1949 (NAID: 201383531)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams, January 5, 1949 (NAID: 201260933)
Part of:
- Collection: Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration), 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561071)
- Series: State Department Briefs Files, 1945 - 1953 (NAID: 561079)
- File Unit: January - April, 1949 (NAID: 1701900)

Background

1949

January 20: Truman is inaugurated as President of the United States. In his inaugural address, he outlines a "program for peace and freedom" which includes four major points: 1. Unfaltering support for the United Nations. 2. A continuation of programs, especially the Marshall Plan, that will create world economic recovery. 3. The creation of collective defense arrangements, and especially one for the North Atlantic region (which would become NATO). 4. A program of technical assistance for underdeveloped areas (which would become the Point Four program).
March 18: The text of the proposed North Atlantic Treaty is made public by the seven nations that drafted it--the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
March 31: The Soviet Union sends identical messages to the seven nations involved in drafting the charter of the North Atlantic Treaty which charge that the proposed treaty would form an "openly aggressive" alliance against the Soviet Union in violation of the United Nations Charter. On April 2, the foreign ministers of the twelve nations that signed the North Atlantic Treaty two days later responded that the treaty provided for an alliance that was completely defensive in nature and "not directed against any nation or group of nations but only against armed aggression."
April 4: The North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington, DC by representatives of Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, the United States and Canada.
July 5 - 8: The Senate debates ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty.
July 21: The Senate approves the ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty by a vote of 83 to 13.
July 25: President Truman announces the ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty. "The American people value peace and freedom above all things," Truman said. "Our ratification of the North Atlantic Pact with the overwhelming support of the Senate and the people shows our determination to preserve this peace and freedom."
July 25: President Truman sends a special message to Congress recommending the passage of legislation to authorize a military aid program. He requests authorization for $1,400,000,000 in military aid in 1950, the major portion of which would be devoted to the needs of Western European nations. Truman believed this aid program was a necessary complement to the North Atlantic Treaty. "Like the North Atlantic Treaty," he said, "this program of military aid is entirely defensive in character. By strengthening the defense establishments of the free nations, it will increase the confidence of the peoples of the world in a peaceful future and protect the growth of world recovery."
August 22: President Truman gives a speech to a convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in which he argues that the United States must provide military assistance to democratic nations, and particularly to the North Atlantic Treaty countries. "...We have forever put behind us the false security of isolationism," Truman said. "...We have learned that the defense of the United States and the defense of other freedom-loving nations are indivisible."
August 24: The North Atlantic Treaty comes into effect. President Truman issued a statement which emphasized the global responsibilities accepted by the North Atlantic Treaty signatories. "By this treaty," he said, "we are not only seeking to establish freedom from aggression and from the use of force in the North Atlantic community, but we are also actively striving to promote and preserve peace throughout the world."
October 5: Representatives of the 12 signatory nations of the North Atlantic Treaty, convened as the Defense Committee of the North Atlantic Council, meet for the first time following the coming into effect of the treaty. They establish a Military Committee headed by Omar N. Bradley, which is charged with drafting a defense plan for the North Atlantic area.
October 6: President Truman signs the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, a military assistance act which authorizes the distribution of about $1.3 billion in arms, equipment, and technical assistance to several areas of the world, particularly to Western Europe. Truman had requested this legislation on July 25, 1949, the same day he announced the ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty, and he regarded it as a necessary supplement to the treaty.

External Links

North Atlantic Treaty Organization Official Homepage

Photographs

Displaying 1 - 43 of 43 images

President Truman watch as Sec. of State Dean Acheson signs the North Atlantic Defense Treaty

97-2230

April 04, 1949

Breadcrumb

The Development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Documents

1949

1950

1951

1952

1970

Undated

Background

External Links

Photographs

President Truman watch as Sec. of State Dean Acheson signs the North Atlantic Defense Treaty

Photo of Senator Tom Connally (D), Texas, reading the text of the NATO Pact

President Harry S. Truman holding copy of the Japanese Peace Treaty

Truman arriving for signing of North Atlantic Treaty

Truman Signing North Atlantic Treaty Proclamation

Photo of Three Top Norwegians Conferring with Dean Acheson

Secretary of State Dean Acheson Signing the Document During the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference

Norwegian Ambassador Wilhelm Munthe De Morgenstierne and Dean Acheson

Canadian Ambassador Hume Wrong signs the Canadian Water Diversion Treaty at Washington

Dean Acheson signs a Tri-Partite Security Pact

A Large Crowd Outside the San Francisco Opera House for Japanese Peace Treaty Conference

Secretary of State Dean Acheson Makes a Radio-TV Broadcast to the Nation from Washington

John Foster Dulles signing the Japanese Peace Treaty

Israeli Ambassador Abba Eban and Dean Acheson Sign Treaty

Dean Acheson and John Foster Dulles

Adm. Arthur W. Radford escorts guests and military into Officer's Club

Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Signs the United Nations Charter

Dean Acheson arrives for the signing of a draft tripartite treaty

Dean Acheson Signs a Draft Tripartite Treaty among the United States, Australia, and New Zealand

John Foster Dulles signs the Tripartite Security Treaty (ANZUS)

Dean Acheson signs Tripartite Security Treaty (ANZUS)

Dean Acheson and others at a conference relating to the draft tripartite treaty

Senator Tom Connally Signs the United Nations Charter

Edward Stettinius Signs the United Nations Charter

President Harry S. Truman Addresses the United Nations

President Harry S. Truman Addresses the United Nations

Edward Stettinius Signs the United Nations Charter

President Harry S. Truman Addresses the United Nations

President Harry S. Truman Addresses the United Nations

Truman speaking at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference

Japan surrenders on the U.S.S. Missouri

Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgium, Signs North Atlantic Treaty

Joseph Bech of Luxembourg Signs the North Atlantic Treaty

Opening ceremony of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Dean Acheson speaks at opening of North Atlantic Treaty Organization signing ceremony

Ernest Bevin Signs the North Atlantic Treaty

Halvard Lange signs North Atlantic Treaty for Norway as John W. Foley looks on

Dirk U. Stikker signs North Atlantic Treaty as Harry S. Truman and Dean Acheson look on

Lester Pearson signs North Atlantic Treaty as Harry S. Truman and Dean Acheson look on

Photo of a "Presidential Suite" plaque at the Hotel Muehlebach

Photo of a "Presidential Suite" plaque at the Hotel Muehlebach

Japanese Peace Treaty

President Truman Speaks at NATO Signing Ceremony