Atlantic Charter Definition and Key Principles

Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

A 1941 joint statement by the US and UK setting out shared post-war aims, including self-determination, free trade, and disarmament of aggressor states.
Was the Atlantic Charter a binding treaty?
How many principles did the Atlantic Charter contain?

Updated June 22, 2026

Go beyond the definition

Research Atlantic Charter like a delegate

Model Diplomat's AI drafts position papers, speeches, and country research with real sources — built for MUN and politics students.

Timeline

14 August 1941
The Atlantic Charter was issued on by US President Franklin D.
1 January 1942
On , twenty-six Allied governments endorsed its principles in the Declaration by United Nations, the document from which the post-war UN took its name.

Research it like a delegate

Research on modeldiplomat.com

Ask a follow-up about Atlantic Charter

Open a cited briefing in Model Diplomat search — timelines, positions, and sources you can use in committee or exam answers.

Start research on Atlantic Charter

Example

In August 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter off Newfoundland, committing the US and UK to principles of self-determination and post-war collective security.

Keep learning

Go deeper than the definition

Explore all Global Affairs lessons Test yourself with a quiz

Take Atlantic Charter beyond the glossary

Ask the AI research engine built for diplomacy — get briefings, position papers, and speeches with sources you can cite in committee.

Research it like a delegate

The Atlantic Charter was issued on 14 August 1941 by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill following their shipboard meeting off Placentia Bay, Newfoundland (the "Riviera" conference aboard USS Augusta and HMS Prince of Wales). Although the United States was not yet formally at war, the document publicly aligned Anglo-American war aims and articulated a vision for the international order that should follow the defeat of Nazi Germany.

The Charter contained eight principles, including:

No territorial aggrandizement by the signatories
No territorial changes against the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned
The right of peoples to choose their own form of government (self-determination)
Access on equal terms to trade and raw materials
Improved labor standards and social security through economic cooperation
A peace allowing all nations to live in safety within their own borders ("freedom from fear and want")
Freedom of the seas
Disarmament of aggressor nations and the eventual establishment of a "wider and permanent system of general security"

The Charter was not a treaty and was never submitted to the US Senate for ratification; it was a joint declaration. Nonetheless, it carried significant legal and political weight. On 1 January 1942, twenty-six Allied governments endorsed its principles in the Declaration by United Nations, the document from which the post-war UN took its name. Its language on self-determination and collective security shaped the UN Charter (1945) and was later invoked by anti-colonial movements, sometimes uncomfortably for Churchill, who insisted the self-determination clause did not apply to the British Empire.

For MUN delegates and IR students, the Atlantic Charter is a key bridge between Wilsonian liberal internationalism of 1918 and the Bretton Woods–San Francisco order of 1944–45. It demonstrates how non-binding declarations can seed binding institutional architecture.

Frequently asked questions

Was the Atlantic Charter a binding treaty?

No. It was a joint declaration of principles, not a treaty, and was never submitted for ratification. Its influence came through political endorsement, especially the 1942 Declaration by United Nations.

How many principles did the Atlantic Charter contain?

Eight, covering territorial integrity, self-determination, free trade, economic cooperation, freedom of the seas, disarmament of aggressors, and a post-war security system.

Did the Atlantic Charter apply to European colonies?

This was disputed. Churchill argued the self-determination clause referred only to nations under Axis occupation, while Roosevelt and later anti-colonial leaders read it as universal.