Hidden Origins: The Pact That Paved the Way

It’s 1940, and Hitler has been marching across Europe, conquering and occupying many countries. The world is tense; Hitler is determine and capable, he’s proven that. All the nations on that continent are nervous - where would he go next? Could he be stopped? If so, who would do it?

President Roosevelt was trying hard to stay out of the war, but being the leader of the free world, he had to prepare for Hitler to bring his conquering thirst to the shores of anywhere in North America. Canada would be an easier target than the United States; the Canadiens, being a British commonwealth, presumed that the British would protect them, but they were an ocean away, and Hitler was already giving them all the business they could handle with attacks on the island nation. Canadians were already in war, with their service members as it was; what if Germany conquered Great Britain? Who would defend Canada then? In July of that year, Hitler was already bombing the island, and the Royal Air Force, along with Canada’s fighter pilots, fought hard against the German Luftwaffe. It was such a concerning situation that the Brits had transferred their gold reserves to Canada, and even secretly formulated a plan to evacuate the royal family, should that be necessary.

Roosevelt, and his Canadian counterpart Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King needed to form an agreement, an alliance, a plan. And they began doing so in a train car in a small town on August 17th, 1940.

They met in that train car, along with their advisors, and came to an agreement that an attack on either country would be an attack on both.

This meeting - and agreement - would not be without controversy however; some Canadians felt that Canada was abandoning Britain, that it was effectively placing itself under the control of the Untied States; even Winston Churchill was angry. Of course, American isolationists opposed it, arguing the US should do nothing to draw itself into the war.

Nevertheless, the critics did not prevail, and the agreement was signed. The next day, the 18th of August, after attending a military service, Roosevelt and King returned back to the train to draft an announcement, and the announcement was made.

In retrospect, historians felt the agreement was a turning point in US - Canadian relations; a new friendship, a new alliance, that it marked a turning point in the war.

Major agreements between countries, like this one, are often named after the place where they were agreed upon and signed. You’ve probably heard of the Camp David Accords or the Paris Peace Accords, but one day in August of 1940,  two countries came together to sign agreement to protect each other if the European madman came to their shores. This agreement they finally come to make, would be the beginning of NATO as we know it today; that’s how large this little sapling would grow.

The name of that piece of paper was called…the Ogdensburg Agreement.