Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
The Atantic Charter
Artifact IDMO 2005.13.33.2.6
Object Type
Poster
Maker
U.S. Government Printing Office
(American, founded 1861)
Issuing Body
U.S. Office of War Information
(American, 1942 - 1945)
Issuing Body
Division of Public Inquiries, OWI
(American, founded 1942)
Date1943
Mediumpaper, ink
Dimensionsoverall H 40 in x W 28 1/2 in (101.6 cm x 72.4 cm )
Physical DescriptionA black and white text-based poster with wording from The Atlantic Charter document signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston S. Churchill on August 14, 1941. The poster includes an opening paragraph summarizing the meeting of FDR and Churchill, followed by the eight principal clauses of the charter.
Additional small text in the bottom margin of the poster has the information: “OWI Poster No. 50. Additional copies may be obtained upon request from the Division of Public Inquiries, Office of War Information, Washington D. C. / U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1943—O-517133.”
Historical NoteThe Atlantic Charter was the statement of principles agreed to by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill of Great Britain at their first wartime conference, August 9-12, 1941.Additional small text in the bottom margin of the poster has the information: “OWI Poster No. 50. Additional copies may be obtained upon request from the Division of Public Inquiries, Office of War Information, Washington D. C. / U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1943—O-517133.”
The conference was held on board naval vessels anchored in Placentia Bay, off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The Charter was not an official document, but rather a joint statement expressing the war aims of the two countries--one technically neutral and the other at war.
The Charter expressed the two countries' beliefs in the rights of self-determination, of all people to live in freedom from fear and want, and of freedom of the seas, as well as the belief that all nations must abandon the use of force and work collectively in the fields of economics and security.
One of the major provisions of the Atlantic Charter declared as follows:
". . . [A]fter the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny, [we] hope to see established a peace which will afford to all nations the means of dwelling in safety within their own boundaries, and which will afford assurance that all men in all lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want. . . . [S]uch a peace should enable all men to traverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance."
The agreement is often cited by historians as one of the first significant steps towards the formation of the United Nations.
The joint declaration was issued by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill on August 14, 1941.Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDonated to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by the Adriance Memorial Library.
Credit LineGift of the Adriance Memorial Library
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesOriginal Posters from World War I and World War II (National Archives Identifier 739394)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.In Collection(s)
Not on view
