On April 4th, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO was formed primarily as a military alliance against the Soviet Union. Belgium, Denmark, Canada, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Luxembourg, and Great Britain all decided to sign the treaty to form NATO after United States President Harry Truman expressed a need for an alliance in the struggle between democracy and communism. NATO has now grown from 12 to 32 member allies and still remains a crucial part of international safety today.