Atlantic Charter Worksheets
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Fact File
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Table of Contents
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Summary
- Earlier initiatives at mutual assistance against Germany
- Atlantic Conference
- Impact of the declaration
Key Facts And Information
Let’s know more about the Atlantic Charter!
The Atlantic Charter was a key statement made on 14 August 1941, by the United States and the United Kingdom, outlining their goals for the world after the Second World War. It laid out several principles for a post-war world, including the idea of self-determination, no expansion of territory, and no changes to countries’ borders without the people’s consent. It also emphasised economic cooperation, freedom from fear and poverty, freedom of the seas, and the disarmament of aggressor nations. The Atlantic Charter was followed by the Declaration by United Nations in January 1942.
Printed copy of the Atlantic Charter
Earlier initiatives at mutual assistance against Germany
- Following the Battle of France (1940) that ended in Axis victory, the exiled governments of Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg set themselves up in London and began to coordinate resistance activities with Britain. In the same year, the French resistance government and the Czechoslovak government-in-exile were also established in London.
- The Balkans campaign also concluded in Axis victory in June 1941. This left Greece and Yugoslavia under Axis occupation. As a result, Yugoslavia joined the other Allied exiles in London.
- The presence of numerous governments-in-exile in London made the city the centre of Allied diplomatic relations.
- Whilst London remained the only belligerent power in Europe that did not fall to Axis powers, it was not saved from German attacks. By June 1941, it had endured many months of fighting in the Battle of Britain and the subsequent London Blitz.
- On 12 June 1941, the representatives of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa and the French resistance government, as well as the exiled governments of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Yugoslavia, attended the first Inter-Allied Conference at St James’s Palace in London.
- They signed the Inter-Allied Declaration, also known as the Declaration of St James’s Palace.
- It was a pledge of solidarity in fighting against aggression and laid out the principles for post-war cooperation.
- According to the Declaration of St James’s Palace, the parties agreed to the following:
- That they will continue the struggle against German or Italian oppression until victory is won, and will mutually assist each other in this struggle to the utmost of their respective capacities.
- That there can be no settled peace and prosperity so long as free peoples are coerced by violence into submission to domination by Germany or its associates, or live under the threat of such coercion.
- That the only true basis of enduring peace is the willing cooperation of free peoples in a world in which, relieved of the menace of aggression, all may enjoy economic and social security; and that it is their intention to work together, and with other free peoples, both in war and peace to this end.
- Another important agreement was arranged a month later. Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 forced the latter to consider an alliance with the UK. However, initial discussions were marked by mutual suspicion between the UK and the Soviet Union.
- Difficult negotiations lasted for three weeks. Additionally, the UK consulted with the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa before finalising the agreement.
- On 12 July 1941, the representatives of the UK and Soviet Union signed the Anglo-Soviet Agreement, with immediate effect, not requiring ratification. The agreement consisted of two clauses:
- The two Governments mutually undertake to render each other assistance and support of all kinds in the present war against Hitlerite Germany.
- They further undertake that during this war they will neither negotiate nor conclude an armistice or treaty of peace except by mutual agreement.
- The Declaration of St James’s Palace and the Anglo-Soviet Agreement shared the fundamental principle of a commitment to mutual assistance in the fight against Nazi Germany and a renunciation of separate peace with the Axis powers.
Leading to the Atlantic Charter: Conference
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the US Navy, first met Winston Churchill, then British Minister of Munitions, at Gray’s Inn in London in 1918. During the Second World War, the two started communicating in 1939, which was followed by numerous secret meetings. By this time, Churchill was British Prime Minister while Roosevelt was US President. After a few top-secret meetings between them, the Atlantic Conference was held in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, in August 1941.
Churchill joined Roosevelt aboard USS Augusta
- Churchill was on board the HMS Prince of Wales, which was escorted by the destroyers HMS Ripley, HMCS Assiniboine and HMCS Restigouche.
- Meanwhile, Roosevelt was on board the American heavy cruiser USS Augusta, which was escorted by the cruiser USS Tuscaloosa, and the destroyers USS McDougal, USS Madison, USS Moffett, USS Sampson and USS Winslow.
- Churchill joined Roosevelt aboard the USS Augusta on 9 August 1941 to discuss war aims and a post-war international system. At the time, the US had not yet officially entered the Second World War.
- The meeting resulted in a joint declaration setting out the common principles that the US and UK would uphold in the post-war world.
- Churchill presented a letter from King George VI to Roosevelt and made an official statement.
- The joint statement was released to the public on 14 August and was titled ‘Joint Declaration by the President and the Prime Minister’ and was generally referred to as the ‘Joint Declaration’.
- It only became known as the Atlantic Charter after the Labour Party newspaper Daily Herald coined the name.
- On 24 August 1941, Churchill used the term in the British Parliament, and it has since been used widely.
- The document was worked out over several drafts due to a number of verbal alterations. The final text was telegraphed to London and Washington, DC, and no signed version ever existed.
- The Atlantic Charter contained eight principal clauses:
- No territorial gains were to be pursued by the US or the UK.
- Territorial adjustments must be in line with the wishes of the peoples concerned.
- All people had a right to self-determination.
- Trade barriers were to be lowered.
- There was to be global economic cooperation and advancement of social welfare.
- The participants would work for a world free of want and fear.
- The participants would work for freedom of the seas.
- There was to be disarmament of aggressor nations and a common disarmament after the war.
Aftermath of the Atlantic Charter declaration
- The Atlantic Charter was immediately and strongly endorsed by the Allies, In fact, the participants at the second Inter-Allied Conference held in London on 24 September 1941 unanimously proclaimed adherence to the mutual principles of policy set out by the UK and the US.
- Meanwhile, the Axis powers generally viewed the diplomatic agreements as a forthcoming alliance against them.
- In Japan, the Charter united support for the militarists in the Japanese government, which wanted to take on the US and Britain more aggressively.
- Britain dropped millions of flysheets over Germany asserting that the Charter was an authoritative statement of the joint commitment of the UK and the US in an effort to ease its suspicions of a punitive peace that would destroy the German state.
- On 1 January 1942, a greater number of countries that committed themselves to the Charter’s principles, signed a joint Declaration by United Nations, which highlighted their solidarity in the defence against Hitlerism. They became the basis of the modern United Nations.
- The Charter’s emphasis on self-determination sparked hope for independence movements in British colonies. However, Britain, as well as France, the Soviet Union and the Netherlands were reluctant to apply the self-determination principle universally, fearing it would lead to the dismantling of their empires. Roosevelt, although backing self-determination in principle, chose not to directly challenge these powers during the war, hoping to address colonial issues after the conflict.
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Frequently Asked Questions About the Atlantic Charter
- What was the Atlantic Charter?
The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration issued by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in August 1941, outlining their goals for the post-World War II world.
- When and where was the Atlantic Charter signed?
It was not formally signed but agreed upon during a meeting aboard naval ships off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, between 9 and 12 August 1941.
- What were the main points of the Atlantic Charter?
The Charter included eight principles: no territorial expansion, self-determination for all peoples, free trade and economic cooperation, freedom of the seas, and disarmament of aggressor nations.