Four Freedoms Speech: The Atlantic Charter

    Four Freedoms Speech: The Atlantic Charter

      The Atlantic Charter was a joint statement issued by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14th, 1941. It defined the goals for the outcome of the war, assuming that the Allies won.

      (And they did. Go us.)

      A concise document, it contains a bunch of details that focus on human rights, and it was clearly written with the Four Freedoms in mind. It also incorporates concerns related to international trade, global economic conditions, and freedom of the seas…which is something that sounds vaguely related to pirates and swashbuckling but is unfortunately way more bureaucratic.

      Though not an official legal document, it made a huge splash with humanitarians and like-minded leaders of the time. Oceanic in its influence (hey-o!), the Atlantic Charter gave shape to the structure of a more humane future and became the foundation for the United Nations.