In 1948, under the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt, the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Once the United Nations was established, international work began on practical steps to secure the basic human rights of all individuals. Creating an "International Bill of Rights" was a high priority.

President Truman decided at that time to appoint Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of the late President, to the first U.S. delegation to the United Nations. She soon demonstrated formidable international skills.

In 1946, the newly established U.N. Commission on Human Rights elected her as its Chairman. The 18 members of the Commission, representing widely varying political and cultural traditions, then set about drafting a declaration on the fundamental human rights of every person in the world.

With tensions rising between Eastern and Western bloc countries, the Commission's task was, to say the least, daunting. For delegates from Western countries, the priority was protecting individual rights from incursions by state powers. For delegates from the Soviet bloc, the priority was promoting the power of the state in the name of protecting people's welfare. The Soviet representative insisted that the declaration exclude all guarantees of political and civil rights. The British delegate at one point spoke out in exasperation, "This declaration must uphold as a model for all humanity the figure of free men, not well-fed slaves."

Eleanor Roosevelt pushed the commission along, month after month, to agreement after agreement. By September 1948, the Commission had forged a remarkable statement of universal human rights. Opposing philosophical and religious positions, legal arguments, and political demands were negotiated. Over 50 governments took part in the final drafting. Every word, phrase, and punctuation mark, and in all five of the official United Nations languages, had to be accepted.

The final version of the Declaration presented to the United Nations General Assembly came to a vote in the early hours of December 10, 1948. At 3:00 A.M., the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Eight nations abstained from the vote, but none dissented. With that vote, the world's nations proclaimed the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all humankind.