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FDR and Winston Churchill planned for a world after the war.

FDR and Churchill's secret meeting in August 1941.
FDR and Churchill's secret meeting in August 1941.

In August 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met off the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The meeting was secret. FDR was supposed to be on a fishing trip, and Churchill was supposed to be at home in London. Churchill's ship had navigated dangerous waters patrolled by Nazi submarines to reach Canada and meet with FDR. At that time, the U.S. was officially neutral; it would not enter the war for another four months. This meant that Britain was the only Allied nation left to fight the Axis in Europe. France and Poland had both been invaded and occupied by Germany. Germany was planning to invade Britain, too, and had been bombing London and other major British cities for over a year by August 1941 to weaken the nation. The U.S. was selling Britain war supplies, but fighting the power of the Axis was still draining Britain's resources. It was a low point in the war for the Allies.

Why did the two leaders meet? Each wanted something from the other. Churchill wanted FDR to openly and officially ally with Britain against the Nazis, and FDR wanted Churchill to commit to specific war aims that the U.S. could support. Neither got what he wanted, but an important agreement was reached, called the Atlantic Charter. Read each tab to learn about the meeting between the two leaders, the points they agreed on, and how they hoped the Atlantic Charter would change the world after the war.

Winning the Peace

The Atlantic Charter

Big Changes

Allied Agreement

Winning the Peace

Since FDR would not commit the U.S. to fighting the Nazis with Britain, Churchill would not allow the U.S. to dictate Britain's war aims. What they did was come to an agreement on what the world would look like after the war, after an Allied victory. Both men realized that when the Second World War ended, the world, and Europe in particular, would be in chaos, just like it was after the First World War. They wanted to come up with better solutions to this problem than the Allies had come up with in 1919.

The published version of the Atlantic Charter.
The published version of the Atlantic Charter.
The agreement they came up with was called the Atlantic Charter. It made eight promises about how the Allies would behave after the war, including these: The U.S. and Britain would not seize any new territory. If national borders changed, the people of those nations had a right to help decide how they would change. All peoples would be given the right of self-determination. The Allies would work together to establish economic equality, social welfare, peace, and freedom.

The Allies had colonial holdings all over the world, shown here in different colors, that might have to be given their independence under the Charter.
The Allies had colonial holdings all over the world, shown here in different colors, that might have to be given their independence under the Charter.

These were ambitious goals meant to create a world where there could never be another world war. The third point of the Charter was especially hard for Britain: It said that the Allies would "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." This referred to nations occupied by Axis powers, like France, China, and Poland, but it also clearly opened the door for people colonized by Britain to demand their independence.

Allied Agreement

The Atlantic Charter was not a formal, binding agreement. It was just a joint statement by the U.S. and Britain. But representatives of other Allied nations decided to accept the terms of the Charter at a meeting in September. On January 1, 1942, the Allies, which now officially included the U.S., pledged to uphold the principles of the Charter and make them a reality after the war.

Declaration_by_the_United_Nations

That January 1, 1942, meeting of Allies also produced a "Declaration by United Nations" signed by 26 governments, including the U.S., Britain, the Soviet Union, and China. The Declaration promised that those nations would help each other fight the Axis powers and win the war. This Declaration was later used as the foundation of the United Nations.

Test your understanding of the Atlantic Charter and U.S.-British relations in 1941 by answering these questions.

Why would the U.S. and Britain focus on what they would do after winning the war at a time when Allied victory seemed unlikely?

When the two leaders met, the U.S. was not in the war, and there was a chance, although a slim one, that Britain could win the war on its own. Why should the U.S. get to play a role in a peace it did not help to win?

Your Responses Sample Answers

Because FDR could not promise to bring the U.S. into the war in the summer of 1941, he and Churchill could not plan war strategy. They had to focus on the goals of the war, which the U.S. could support without having to enter the war.

The U.S. was playing a part by selling Britain war supplies. But even more than that, the U.S. would be the only other great power left in the West after an Allied victory, and its support would be crucial to the success of any British peacetime goals.