This week, 70 years ago, the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was on a fishing trip in the waters off of Cape Cod. At least that is what he told the First Lady, before he left the White House on August 3. Then the President smiled, and Eleanor knew there was something else afoot.
    On the morning of August the 4th, the Presidential Yacht, Potomac, arrived in Buzzard’s Bay along the coast of Massachusetts, for a previously arranged assignation with Crown Princess Märtha of Norway. The Princess was the niece, on her father’s side, of Gustav V, King of Sweden. She was also the niece on her mother’s side, of Haakon VII, King of Norway, and married to the Norwegian King’s son, Crown Prince Olav.  
    When the Germans overran the Norwegian Kingdom, the King, his son and the Government evacuated to London and established a Government-in-exile, while the Princess, concerned for the safety of her children, accepted an offer of asylum from President Roosevelt, whom she had met when she and her husband were attending the World’s Fair in 1939. The Princess was tall, willowy and very attractive and the President enjoyed her company immensely and spent much time in it.
    The Potomac picked up Princess Märtha and her brother, Prince Carl, fished a bit, returned to the dock for lunch, and fished a bit more in the afternoon. At the end of the day the royal guests departed the Potomac, which then sailed to Martha’s Vineyard, where it encountered the heavy cruiser, U.S.S. Augusta and five destroyers. On the decks of the Augusta were: General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the Army; Admiral Harold Stark, Chief of Naval Operations; General Henry “Hap” Arnold, Commander of the U.S. Army Air Force; and Admiral Ernest King, Commander-in-Chief U.S. Atlantic Fleet.  
    Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, British Prime Minister, Sir Winston S. Churchill, was giving everyone the slip, as he boarded the new British battleship, H.M.S. Prince of Wales, for a trip across the Atlantic to meet the American President. In the meantime, Harry Hopkins, who had arranged the meeting, and then flown to Moscow to meet with Stalin, was flying to Scapa Flow, via the White Sea port of Archangel, to join the British Prime Minister for the voyage across the Atlantic.
    Harry Hopkins had no title in the United States Government, but his importance was probably only second to that of the President, since he was the President’s closest advisor, and the man to whom the President entrusted the most important missions overseas. It came to be understood that a visit from Harry Hopkins was, in essence, a visit from F.D.R. himself.  Indeed, Harry Hopkins resided in the White House during the war, and like the President, he would literally work himself to death for his Country.  
    Although Churchill and Roosevelt had met, briefly, at the end of The Great War, they had not spent any time together. On the transatlantic voyage, the Prime Minister continually quizzed Hopkins for insights into FDR’s personality. At the same time, the American President was doing the same to Secretary of Labor, Ms. Frances Perkins, who had known Churchill before WWI.
    On Saturday morning, August 9, 1941, the Prince of Wales, accompanied by one British and two Canadien destroyers, hove into sight of the Augusta. The British band played, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” The location was Placentia Bay, Dominion of Newfoundland, where, under the Lend-Lease Program, the United States had established a small naval station at the village of Argentia. The Dominion did not become a part of Canada, as the tenth province, until 1949.
    As the British battleship arrived, the PM could see Roosevelt standing on the deck of the Augusta, supported by his son Elliott. Once the Prince of Wales was securely at anchor, the British Prime Minister came aboard the American cruiser, where he was greeted by the President. After a moment of silence, Churchill said, “At long last, Mr. President.” Roosevelt responded, “Glad to have you aboard, Mr. Churchill.” The Prime Minister then handed the President a letter from King George VI.
    The first day’s discussions concerned Japan. Roosevelt knew that ultimately the United States must enter the war and that Germany had to be the first order of business. He believed that an early war with Japan would mean, “...the wrong war in the wrong ocean at the wrong time.” The President had resisted economic sanctions against the Japanese Empire until mid-July when Japan occupied Indo-China. He then: (1) froze all Japanese assets in the United States; (2) notified Japan that the Panama Canal would be closed for repairs; and (3) announced he was cutting off all high-octane gasoline. This was particularly bothersome for that nation’s fighter planes.
    Churchill wanted more but the President demurred, fearing that anything stronger would lead to war. As to the Atlantic, the President agreed that American ships would escort both British and American ships as far as Iceland.  There the Royal Navy would assume escort duty.
    Sunday morning, the President attended church services on the Prince of Wales. Aided by his son, Elliott, the President crossed the narrow gangway from the Augusta to the British battleship and then walked the entire length of the ship to his designated place beside Churchill on the quarterdeck. Recalling the moment, the Prince of Wales’ Captain, W. M. Yool, said, “One got the impression of great courage and strength of character.  It was obvious to everybody that he was making a tremendous effort and that he was determined to walk along the deck if it killed him.”
    To begin the service they sang Churchill’s favorite hymn, “Oh God Our Help In Ages Past,” followed by “Eternal Father Strong to Save,” a song which had been selected by the President. The final hymn was “Onward Christian Soldiers.”  They were joined in the hymn singing by hundreds of British and American sailors.  
    The following two days the two leaders and their staffs engaged in discussions.  These resulted in anticipated cooperation between the two countries and their military as well as the issuance of a statement which has come to be known as the “Atlantic Charter.” It reads,
“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 and make known certain common principals 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 people 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 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 of 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 prosperities;
        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 and safety within their own boundaries and which will afford assurance that all men in all 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 a 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 measure which will lighten for peace-loving peoples the crushing burden of armaments.

    The Statement was released on August the 14th.  The term “Atlantic Charter” was coined by the London newspaper “The Daily Herald.”
    At the close of the Conference, as the Prince of Wales departed, sailors from both navies lined their ships and Churchill stood at salute until the ship was out of sight, while the band played the “Star Spangled Banner.” The Prince of Wales then sailed to Iceland where the Prime Minister reviewed the troops there before arriving at Scapa Flow, the base of the British Home Fleet, in Scotland.
    The Inter-Allied Council, composed of the exiled governments of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Yugoslavia, together with representatives of the Free French and the Soviet Union, met in St. James Palace in London on September 24, 1941 and unanimously adopted the principals set forth in the Atlantic Charter.
    The meeting between the two great English-speaking leaders was a resounding success, because the two became fast friends, and their friendship formed the foundation of a solid, successful wartime alliance.

NEXT WEEK: COMMERCE RAIDING

    Mr. Wimbrow writes from Ocean City, Maryland, where he practices law representing those persons accused of criminal and traffic offenses, and those persons who have suffered a personal injury through no fault of their own.