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PAPER XXVIII
"... All of the nations of the world, for realistic as well as spiritual
reasons, must come to the abandonment of the use of force."
Joint statement of the President of the United States and the Prime
Minister of Great Britain, August 14, 1941
AUGUST 14, 1941.
The following statement signed by the President of the United States and
the Prime Minister of Great Britain is released for the information of
the press:
"The President of the United States and the Prime Minister, Mr.
Churchill, representing His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom,
have met at sea.
"They have been accompanied by officials of their two Governments,
including high ranking officers of their military, naval, and air
services.
"The whole problem of the supply of munitions of war, as provided by the
Lend-Lease Act, for the armed forces of the United States and for those
countries actively engaged in resisting aggression has been further
examined.
"Lord Beaverbrook, the Minster of Supply of the British Government, has
joined in these conferences. He is going to proceed to Washington to
discuss further details with appropriate officials of the United States
Government. These conferences will also cover the supply problems of the
Soviet Union.
"The President and the Prime Minister have had several conferences. They
have considered the dangers to world civilization arising from the
policies of military domination by conquest upon which the Hitlerite
Government of Germany and other governments associated therewith have
embarked, and have made clear the steps which their countries are
respectively taking for their safety in the face of these dangers.
"They have agreed upon the following joint declaration:
"Joint declaration of the President of the United States of America and
the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill representing His Majesty's Government
in the United Kingdom being met together deem it right to make known
certain common principles in the national policies of their respective
countries on which they base their hopes for a better future for the
world.
"First, their countries seek no aggrandizement, territorial or other;
"Second, they desire to see no territorial changes that do not accord
with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned;
"Third, they respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of
government under which they will live; and they wish to see sovereign
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rights and self-government restored to those who have been forcibly
deprived of them;
"Fourth, they will endeavor, with due respect for their existing
obligations, to further the enjoyment by all states, great or small,
victor or vanquished, of access, on equal terms, to the trade and to the
raw materials of the world which are needed for their economic
prosperity;
"Fifth, they desire to bring about the fullest collaboration between all
nations in the economic field with the object of securing, for all,
improved labor standards, economic advancement, and social security;
"Sixth, after the final destruction of the Nazi tyranny, they 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 the men in all the lands may live out their lives in
freedom from fear and want;
"Seventh, such a peace should enable all men to traverse the high seas
and oceans without hindrance;
"Eighth, they believe that all of the nations of the world, for
realistic as well as spiritual reasons, must come to the abandonment of
the use of force. Since no future peace can be maintained if land, sea,
or air armaments continue to be employed by nations which threaten, or
may threaten, aggression outside of their frontiers, they believe,
pending the establishment of a wider and permanent system of general
security, that the disarmament of such nations is essential. They will
likewise aid and encourage all other practicable measures which will
lighten for peace-loving peoples the crushing burden of armaments.
"FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT."
"WINSTON S. CHURCHILL."
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This joint statement known as the Atlantic Charter was released on
August 14, 1941 after conferences had been held between the President,
the Prime Minister, and their Naval and Military Staffs, at an
unspecified point in the North Atlantic area.