The United Nations actually began as a different group, dubbed the League of Nations. Woodrow Wilson called for its creation in his "Fourteen Points" speech, given at the end of World War I. It was created with the intentions of preventing another world war. The League was born eventually, however the United States failed to ratify. Thus the United States, who had produced the idea for the League, was not an active member.
Membership was not universal, meaning that certain countries could be kept out. Authority, however, was expected to be universal. This meant that a country could be issued orders or requests despite not being a member of the League giving out the orders.
Another flaw of the League was the need for consensus. Nothing was accomplished unless each of the members unanimously agreed. Therefore, not much actually got done.
