Sold – Symbol of the Atlantic Alliance, Signed by Both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill

Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Leaders of the United States and Great Britain during World War II who worked closely together to save the world from fascism. In late 1940 the British were holding out alone against Germany and taking a terrific pounding.

On December 21, Victoria Station in London was hit; city after city was ablaze. Churchill was inspiring the nation from the underground Cabinet War Rooms but nothing could hide the fact that the situation was dire. FDR was deeply concerned and felt that the U.S. had to do something.

As he himself told it, “When Harry Hopkins went to England the first time in January, 1941, I told him to express my hope to Churchill that we could meet some day to talk over the problem of defeat of Germany. Before Hopkins could deliver the message, Churchill expressed exactly the same thought to Hopkins. Thus it may be truthfully said that the meeting was suggested by both Churchill and me.”

Shortly after Hopkins acted as conduit for these messages, Wendell Willkie arrived in London bearing a letter of introduction to Churchill from Roosevelt, who by way of encouragement added a few appropriate lines from Longfellow:

“Sail on, O ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, With all the hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate!” FDR added “This verse applies to your people as well as to us.”

The verse moved Churchill greatly, and in a celebrated speech to the British people on February 9, 1941, he specifically referenced it, saying “The other day, President Roosevelt gave his opponent in the late presidential election a letter…to me, and in it he wrote out a verse, in his own handwriting, from Longfellow. [He then quoted the verse]. What is the answer that I shall give, in your name, to this great man, the thrice-chosen head of a nation of a hundred thirty millions? Here is the answer which I shall give to President Roosevelt: Put your confidence in us. Give us your faith and your blessing, and under Providence, all will be well.”

Thus both Roosevelt and Churchill quoted these lines of Longfellow’s. Meanwhile arrangements for a meeting proceeded, and one took place from August 9-12 at Newfoundland. This was the fateful Atlantic Conference where the Atlantic Alliance was born. Leaders attending with Churchill were Sir Alexander Cadogan, British Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs: R.A.F. Air Chief Marshal Wilfred Freeman; Adm. Sir Dudley Pound, First Lord of the British Admiralty; Field Marshal Sir John Dill; and Churchill’s old friend who so aided him with information during the “wilderness years” of the 1930’s, Frederick Lindemann, now Lord Cherwell. With Roosevelt were Adm. Ernest J. King, USN; Gen. George C. Marshall, U.S. Army; Adm. Harold R. Stark, USN; Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles; and confidential advisors Harry Hopkins and W. Averell Harriman. FDR also brought two of his sons, his doctor and a few other junior aides.

The two leaders and their staffs discussed the general strategy of the war against the Axis powers (although the United States was not yet a belligerent), and gave attention to future military operations, in particular launching a second front in Europe to support the beleaguered Soviet forces. Roosevelt and Churchill also agreed that U.S. and British scientists would cooperate in developing the atomic bomb.

The major public outcome of the Atlantic Conference was the Atlantic Charter, issued by Roosevelt and Churchill on August 14, 1941. The Charter set forth the Allies’ basic postwar principles, including the repudiation of all territorial aggrandizement, the consent of people to all territorial changes, the rights of people to self-determination, freedom of the seas, economic cooperation, and a permanent system of postwar security.

The Atlantic Charter, subsequently endorsed by 15 nations, became the basis of shared hopes and goals for the Grand Alliance of nations that overcame the Axis in 1945. Perhaps just as importantly, it cemented the friendship of the British and American peoples, and formed the basis for the Atlantic Alliance which has lasted over half a century and has shaped the world and meant so much to freedom-loving people everywhere. To commemorate the occasion of the Atlantic Conference, and in remembrance of the words of Longfellow which had so buoyed him, Churchill had a broadside made up before the Conference and brought some copies with him.

The broadside was 8 by 10 inches and was handsomely printed in calligraph style, the first letters of each line illuminated in red-orange, and the whole surmounted by a drawing of the Mayflower. It quoted the Longfellow verse in full, and had a printed explanation at the lower right stating “The Longfellow verse in Mr. Roosevelt’s message to Mr. Churchill.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt signed some of these broadsides on the upper portion and Churchill signed on the lower portion.

We offer one contained in its original gilt plaster frame surmounted by a harp and flaming torches, with a small vintage plaque at the bottom stating “The Atlantic Meeting, August, 1941.” Although it is not known exactly how many of these broadsides were printed and signed, only four have surfaced to date. Both Churchill and Roosevelt signed one for the other to keep, and FDR gave his to his son John, telling him that only a few had been signed. A third was owned by Harry Hopkins and is now in a major World War II museum. And then there is this copy, undoubtedly owned by one of the major participants previously listed.

This truly remarkable piece of history is as timely today as it was then. Since September 11, there has been a great resurgance of interest in Roosevelt and Churchill (particularly the latter), for two reasons. One is the need for inspiration and courage. The Churchill quotes which so inspired men and women in 1940 and 1941 are having the same impact now, and Churchill has been cited as a major influence by Pres. Bush, Mayor Giuliani and numerous other leaders. The second is the important continuity of the Atlantic Alliance itself. After the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was the first world leader to affirm solidarity with the United States, and he and President Bush could easily have used the same words of this poem in affirming their friendship and determination to preserve freedom. And as in the olden time, mankind is “hanging breathless” on their fate.