The Atlantic Charter was signed by Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill and the President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt in August 1941 aboard a warship in Placentia Bay off Newfoundland. It established a vision for a post-World War II world, despite the fact the United States had yet to enter the War. The participants hoped in vain that the Soviet Union, since June invaded by her previous ally Nazi-Germany, would sign as well.
In brief, the eight points were:
- no territorial gains sought by the United States or the United Kingdom,
- territorial adjustments must conform to the people involved,
- people have right to choose own government,
- trade barriers lowered,
- there must be disarmament,
- there must be freedom from want and fear,
- there must be freedom of the seas,
- there must be an association of nations.
On the other hand, this agreement proved to be one of the first steps to the formation of the United Nations.