The Atlantic Charter: The Roosevelt-Churchill Declaration.

CHURCHILL, Winston S. and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Item Number: 123472

London: The National Peace Council, 1942.

First edition of the Atlantic Charter. Octavo, original wrappers. In near fine condition.

The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration issued during World War II (1939-45) by the United States and Great Britain that set out a vision for the postwar world. First announced on August 14, 1941, a group of 26 Allied nations eventually pledged their support by January 1942. Among its major points were a nation’s right to choose its own government, the easing of trade restrictions and a plea for postwar disarmament. The document is considered one of the first key steps toward the establishment of the United Nations in 1945. From August 9 to August 12, 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met aboard naval ships in Placentia Bay, off the southeast coast of Newfoundland, to confer on a range of issues related to World War II. It was the first time the two leaders had met as heads of their respective governments, and at that point, the United States had not yet entered the war (it would do so in December of that year following the bombing of Pearl Harbor). They met under utmost secrecy, evading all press to avoid the threat of being targeted by German U-Boats or isolationists bent on pulling the U.S. into war.