The Atlantic Charter

Illustration: President Roosevelt and Prime minister
Winston Churchill, During the Atlantic Charter meeting.

 In August, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime minister Winston Churchill met secretly aboard a ship off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. World War II was raging in Europe, and Britain was under attack by Nazi Germany. The United States was not yet at war. But the two leaders wanted to set out the principles that linked their countries in a shared view of the war and the future.

The document they issued on August 14, was called the Atlantic Charter, Became a blueprint for the postwar world. It's principles included opposition to territorial changes gained by force; the right of people to choose their own government; access to raw materials and freedom to travel by sea for all nations; an international cooperation to improve economic and social wellbeing. The charter also condemned aggression and called for the disarming of aggressive nations.

Four months later, the U.S. entered the war. The Atlantic Charter helped rally public opinion to the Allied cause. And after the war, many of the principles it set out were adopted by the United Nations.

DID YOU KNOW....The Atlantic Charter was written in a series of meetings aboard a U.S. Navy cruiser, the USS Augusta.

---

---

This site and its contents, text and graphics unless otherwise posted are copyright (c) 2002
G. Stevens/Design Unlimited - All Rights Reserved.
No part of this site may be distributed, reproduced or transmitted or posted
in any manner without the express written permission of the authors.

A Special Thanks To Groiler Books.

BACK