Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter is a pivotal agreement established during a secret meeting between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1941, prior to the United States' entry into World War II. At this time, Britain was engaged in a protracted fight against the Axis powers, and Churchill recognized the necessity of American support for a successful outcome. The discussions centered on envisioning a postwar world, despite prominent tensions regarding trade policies and the British Empire's status. The final agreement highlighted principles such as self-determination, economic cooperation, and the promotion of peace, later securing endorsement from the Soviet Union and influencing the foundation of the United Nations. While the Charter provided the British with optimism for the future, it also reassured the Americans that they were not yet committing to direct involvement in the conflict. Overall, the Atlantic Charter symbolized a crucial step towards international collaboration and the establishment of a new global order following the war.
Atlantic Charter
The Treaty Agreement between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill that committed their countries to peace, recognizing the right of self-determination for all nations
Date Signed on August 14, 1941
Place Placentia Bay, Newfoundland
This first meeting between Roosevelt and Churchill led to a series of regular meetings throughout World War II, later also involving Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. After the war, the charter became foundational in setting up the United Nations.
At the time of the meeting of the two leaders, the United States was not yet involved in World War II, while Great Britain had been fighting for two years. Although the Americans were beginning to give Britain material help, the antiwar sentiment was still too strong for Franklin D. Roosevelt to commit himself to joining Britain. On the other hand, Winston Churchill realized that without the United States, the war against the Axis forces could not be won.
The first meeting was held in secret. Roosevelt was ostensibly going on a fishing trip and only out at sea transferred to the USS Augusta. Churchill sailed from Scapa Flow in the far north of Scotland, also away from public view. He sailed in the premier British warship HMS Prince of Wales. Accompanying Roosevelt were his close advisers Harry Hopkins and William Averell Harriman, Sumner Welles from his cabinet, and a number of military officers. With Churchill were Lord Beaverbrook and Alexander Cadogan, a senior Foreign Office official. The military was headed up by Field Marshal Sir John Dill, later to become British representative to Washington.
Military talks ran parallel to the political but were subordinate to them. Churchill and Roosevelt were meeting for the first time, but relations proved to be good between them. Roosevelt could not agree to Churchill’s demands to promise to enter the war or even to make a firm stand against the Japanese. They fared better when they discussed what a postwar world could look like.
An initial draft of an agreement drawn up by Cadogan and Welles was presented to the two leaders. The sticking points at first were the British Empire and its system of trade preferences, which cut across policies of free trade. The British cabinet, sitting under Labour leader Clement Attlee, also wanted a clause added to cover welfare and working conditions.
Impact
The declaration became known as the Atlantic Charter. It was later approved by the Soviet Union and became the basis for the United Nations. The United States was immediately assured that it had not been committed to war. To the British the charter gave them hope for a future after the war.
Bibliography
Brinkley, Douglas G., and David R. Facey-Crowther. The Atlantic Charter. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.
Fenby, Jonathan. Alliance: The Inside Story of How Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Won One War and Began Another. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.
Morton, H. V. Atlantic Meeting: An Account of Mr Churchill’s Voyage in HMS Prince of Wales in August, 1941. London: Methuen, 1943.