When 850 delegates from 50 “united nations” gathered in San Francisco in 1945 to draft a charter for what would become the U.N., French officials had a clear objective: Broadcast to the world that they had changed.
The “French Empire” was becoming the “French Union,” and France’s colonization was now imbued with a “progressive spirit” that uplifted populations through development and welfare projects. Through public statements and backchannel negotiations, the goal was to sell a “repackaged vision of empire,” as scholar Jessica Pearson has written, more palatable to leaders and the public who were souring on imperialism — while simultaneously maintaining France’s power and reputation.
Particularly mindful of how their words would play to American audiences, the French delegation’s report stated that it would be necessary to “Present our arguments and defend them in a way that would be accessible to American opinion,” and that it would be a “simple of question of vocabulary, ingenuity, and tact.”