The Atlantic Conference & Charter
14 August 1941
Roosevelt and Churchill aboard the U.S.S. Augusta
The Atlantic Charter was a combined declaration signed by both U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 14th, 1941 which presented a wide-ranging statement of U.S. and British war aims. Roosevelt and Churchill met on August 9th – 12th to discuss the current war situation and their aims for after the war. They met aboard the U.S.S. Augusta in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. The Atlantic Charter drafted eight principles that Roosevelt and Churchill pledged to sustain in the post-war world. These principles were as following: both countries concurred that they would not seek to expand their territories; they would establish freedom of the seas, as well as international labor, economic, and welfare standards; seek independence and liberalization of global trade; and most importantly, they committed themselves to support, reorganize and help restructure the governments of the countries that had been occupied during the war, while still allowing for the people to choose their own form of government. Although the Atlantic Charter successfully outlined these principles, it was not successful in fulfilling the desired outcomes of the two leaders; Roosevelt and Churchill. Roosevelt had hoped that this conference and Charter would encourage and motivate the U.S. citizens to support the U.S. in becoming allied with the Allies in the war; however the public opinion remained vehemently opposed to taking a part in the war. Churchill’s foremost goal in attending the conference was to push America into the war, to aid the Allied forces, and to support Britain in deterring Japan into taking any aggressive and hostile actions in the Pacific. However, Roosevelt would not even discuss American entry into the war, which frustrated Churchill. Nevertheless, the Charter was signed and agreed to by both men, which was the most they could achieve during their conference. Even though the Atlantic Charter was not a binding agreement, it significantly changed the view of the U.S. and altered their stance in the war. The Charter conveyed President Roosevelt’s ideals for after the war; the ideals of liberalized trade, government, and economic standards, and provided motivation and inspiration to third world countries struggling to reform their nation and government. The Atlantic Charter established a sense of unity between Great Britain and the U.S. and the Allied powers, while enforcing a tone of aggression towards the Axis powers, which, after the Lend-Lease Act, further intensified the hostility from the Axis powers, towards the U.S. This contributed to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the U.S.’s eventual entrance into World War II.