Date Created:
Place Created: Placentia Bay, Newfoundland
Year Created: 1941
Historical Theme:
Description:
The Atlantic Charter, issued on August 14, 1941, was a pivotal joint declaration by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, setting out their shared vision for the post–World War II world. Although the United States was not yet formally involved in the war, the charter signaled close Anglo-American cooperation and a moral commitment to shaping global order based on democratic ideals and peace.
This non-binding agreement outlined eight principles, including no territorial aggrandizement, self-determination for peoples, equal access to trade and resources, economic and social cooperation, disarmament of aggressor nations, and freedom from fear and want. It also emphasized freedom of the seas and renunciation of force in international relations.
The Atlantic Charter laid the foundation for the United Nations and became a cornerstone of postwar diplomacy, inspiring colonized peoples worldwide and reinforcing Allied commitment to a just and peaceful international order.
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The President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister,
First, their countries seek no aggrandizement, territorial or other;
Second, they desire to see no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned;
Third, they respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live; and they wish to see sovereign rights and self government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them;
Fourth, they will endeavor, with due respect for their existing obligations, to further the enjoyment by all States, great or small, victor or vanquished, of access, on equal terms, to the trade and to the raw materials of the world which are needed for their economic prosperity;
Fifth, they desire to bring about the fullest collaboration between all nations in the economic field with the object of securing, for all, improved labor standards, economic advancement and social security;
Sixth, after the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny, they hope to see established a peace which will afford to all nations the means of dwelling in safety within their own boundaries, and which will afford assurance that all the men in all lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want;
Seventh, such a peace should enable all men to traverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance;
Eighth, they believe that all of the nations of the world, for realistic as well as spiritual reasons must come to the abandonment of the use of force. Since no future peace can be maintained if land, sea or air armaments continue to be employed by nations which threaten, or may threaten, aggression outside of their frontiers, they believe, pending the establishment of a wider and permanent system of general security, that the disarmament of such nations is essential. They will likewise aid and encourage all other practicable measure which will lighten for peace-loving peoples the crushing burden of armaments.
Citation: “The Atlantic Charter.” Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, www.loc.gov/item/2018757217/.
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