As one of the U.S.’s longest standing foreign agreements, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was signed 69 years ago. Originally formed as a defense against a Soviet invasion, NATO later shifted its focus to maintaining stability in Europe after the 1991 breakup of the Warsaw Pact. After the 9/11 attacks of 2001 on the U.S,. NATO was called on to defend one of its own. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 and is a group of 29 countries from Europe and North America that seeks to protect the people and territory of its members. The alliance is based on the principle of collective defense, which means that if one ally is attacked, then all allies are attacked. For example, when terrorists attacked the United States on 9/11 2001, all NATO Allies stood with America as though they had also been attacked.

The NATO is a reliance system for all countries in it and has grown throughout the years. NATO originally started with 12 founding members and most recently, added on Montenegro, in 2017. There is major consideration put into NATO, taken the fact that the financial and military is involved in it as well.

Global History Teacher, Kim Herrmann, believes that there are both positives and negatives that result from NATO, “Both benefit and problem are the same in that they are an alliance. It helps unify them, for help, but it is bad in the case that if two have a conflict, then they don’t have a clear path to resolution.” She also adds, “NATO has affected the United States by putting financial and military energy into it, since we have so much responsibility. The United States is a major driving force in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and it is empowering to think of the involvement.”

Many individuals, also, agree that many positives have resulted from the U.S.’s affiliation with NATO. Sophomore Ethan Renz expresses this sentiment: “I feel great about the United States being a part of it, it creates a strong allied system among many powerful nations and secures good trade to keep our economy rolling. Although some countries don’t pay their fair share, it is still a great organization.” Freshman, Leo Finkelstein adds, “It is very empowering knowing we were one of the founders. NATO has certainly affected us in our past. 9/11 was a tough time for everyone and imagining it without the NATO’s help would be very hard for some people.”

In honor of the 69-year anniversary, students and teachers are both proud to remember the initial signing of NATO and to know that the United States played a large part in founding the organization. Without the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, history would have been changed forever, in which the United States would not have been as protected and stood for. Rather than just passing by, every citizen should recognize the NATO, and appreciate it for support it has given.