World War II: The Atlantic Charter

On August 9, 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for four days of talks aboard the USS Augusta off the coast of Newfoundland.

At the end they agreed on eight principles that would inform their policies on war and peace:

• Renunciation of territorial aggression
• Opposition to territorial changes without consent of the peoples concerned
• Support for the right of people to choose their own government
• Access to raw materials for all nations
• Support of efforts to improve the economic condition of people throughout the world
• Freedom from fear and want
• Freedom of the seas
• Disarmament of aggressors

The Atlantic Charter, as the document came to be known offered an ideal vision of the postwar world.

Sources: Bard, Mitchell G. The Complete Idiot's Guide to World War II. 2nd Edition. NY: Alpha Books, 2004.