The veto was the result of extensive discussion during the negotiations for the formation of the United Nations at Dumbarton Oaks ( August – October 1944 ) and Yalta ( February 1945 ) . The evidence is that the United States , Soviet Union , United Kingdom , and China all favored the principle of unanimity , not only out of desire for the major powers to act together , but also to protect their own sovereign rights and national interests . Harry S. Truman , who became President of the US in April 1945 , wrote : " All our experts , civil and military , favored it , and without such a veto no arrangement would have passed the Senate . " At San Francisco , the Big Five made it clear that there would be no United Nations if they were n't given the veto . Francis O. Wilcox , an adviser to the US delegation , described the dramatic negotiations : " At San Francisco , the issue was made crystal clear by the leaders of the Big Five : it was either the Charter with the veto or no Charter at all . Senator Connally from the US delegation dramatically tore up a copy of the Charter during one of his speeches and reminded the small states that they would be guilty of that same if they opposed the unanimity principle . " You may , if you wish , " he said , " go home from this Conference and say that you have defeated the veto . But what will be your answer when you are asked : ' Where is the Charter ' ? " The usage of the veto has gone through several distinct phases , reflecting the shifting political balance on the Security Council . From 1946 to 1969 , a majority of the Security Council was aligned with the United States , which cast no vetoes because it won every vote . To block resolutions from the Western majority , the Soviet Union cast of all the vetoes . France and the United Kingdom occasionally used the veto to protect their colonial interests , and the Republic of China only used the veto once
Yalta
Yalta Conference
United Nations Security Council veto power