 "On 16 February 1934, Premier Alderdice signed the papers that surrendered Newfoundland's dominion status," reports historian Sean Cadigan.In 1940 Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to an exchange of American destroyers for access to British naval bases in the Atlantic, including Newfoundland.The result was sudden prosperity as American money flooded the island, where 25% of the people had recently been on relief.