The Churchill Series – Oct. 20, 2006

(One of a series of weekday posts on the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

On March 5, 1946 Churchill delivered his famous “Iron Curtin” speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. To mark its 50th anniversary, the college invited one of Churchill’s successors as Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, to deliver a speech reflecting on its impact. Excerpts from Thatcher’s speech:

In due course, that speech bore rich fruit in the new institutions forged to strengthen the West against Stalin’s assault: The Marshall Plan laid the foundations for Europe’s postwar economic recovery. The Truman Doctrine made plain that America would resist communist subversion of democracy. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization mobilized America’s allies for mutual defense against the Soviet steamroller. And the European Coal and Steel Community, devised to help reconcile former European enemies, evolved over time into the European Community. […]

[But the initial] reaction, fifty years ago, to that earlier Fulton speech was swift, dramatic and, at first, highly critical. Indeed, to judge from the critics, you would have imagined that it was not Stalin but Winston Churchill who had drawn down the Iron Curtain.

But for all the immediate disharmony, it soon became evident that Fulton had struck a deeper chord. It resulted in a decisive shift in opinion: by May, the opinion polls recorded that 83 per cent of Americans now favoured the idea of a permanent alliance between the United States and Britain, which was subsequently broadened into NATO. By speaking as and when he did, Churchill guarded against a repetition of the withdrawal of America from Europe which, after 1919, allowed the instability to emerge that plunged the whole world—including America—into a second war. […

I plan to say more about the “Iron Curtin” speech in Monday’s post. You can read extended excerpts of the speech here.

The speech is quite long. However, for those of you who wish to read the entire speech, it’s here where you’ll also find a link to an audio of Churchill delivering it. (Real Player necessary)

The text of Lady Thatcher’s speech is here.

I hope you all have a nice weekend.

John