The North Atlantic Treaty was signed at Washington, DC on April 4, 1949 and entered into force on August 24, 1949. The treaty, in English and French texts, formed the legal basis of and is implemented by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Representatives of the United States, Canada, and 10 Western European nations signed a mutual defense pact against possible aggression from the Soviet Union. After the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Article V of the NATO Charter was invoked for the first and only time in its history. The article refers to collective defense—an attack on one member is considered an attack against all members.
North Atlantic Treaty is a part of America’s 100 Docs, an initiative of the National Archives Foundation in partnership with More Perfect that invites the American public to vote on 100 notable documents from the holdings of the National Archives. Visit 100docs.vote today.
