Atlantic Charter

14 August 1941 · On warships off Newfoundland

Global: UN, law & climate

Background

Agreed before the USA entered the war. Its eight points included no territorial gains, the right of peoples to choose their government, freer trade and a permanent system of security. The 1942 Declaration by United Nations adopted it. Churchill later said it applied mainly to Nazi-occupied Europe, not to India and other colonies.

Signed by

USA (Franklin D. Roosevelt) and Britain (Winston Churchill)

Why it matters

Set out shared goals for the post-war world, such as self-determination and no territorial gains; it inspired the United Nations.