...Churchill the Writer Winston Churchill (1874-1965) is one of the most celebrated, criticized, and without question debated political figures in world history. While Churchill had a long and controversial political career, most notably his nine years as Prime Minster of Great (1940-45, 1951-55), his fame, something many view as a crucial aspect of his life he thrived off of and live for, spanned well beyond the years he held various positions in political office. Churchill was born and raised in the Victorian Era, a time in which the British Empire was at its peak as the world’s strongest power. When studying almost any aspect of Churchill’s life, his romantic vision of Britain as a thriving empire and world power holds a strong precedence. Many historians study Churchill through his political career, aiming to validate claims both for and against Churchill as hero of his time. There is expansive research and volumes of evaluations on Churchill’s decision making and the associated success and failures that ensued. While the never ending debate on the quality of his leadership goes on, Churchill’s career as a writer and his extensive published works are commonly overlooked. This paper analyzes Churchill the writer and how his works not only paint a vivid picture of his life and times, but are also a self-reflection of the man he was and the man he wanted to be. Churchill once stated, “Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with it is a toy then an amusement. Then it becomes...
Words: 1940 - Pages: 8
...Winston Churchill There are not too many people that can say they were knighted and given an honorable state burial, however Sir Winston Churchill can. According to (Wikipedia.org), upon the death of Churchill on January 24 1965, the queen of Britain granted him the honor of a state burial. Churchill was granted this honor due to his many accomplishments during his life. These accomplishments range from him being a great war hero, to being awarded the Nobel peace prize. However, his biggest accomplishments came during his two terms as the First Lord of Admiralty and as Prime Minister, but people still wonder if he was the right man for the jobs. Winston Churchill grew up going to school like any other kid, but as he got older his personality and leadership skills propelled him ahead of the rest. It began with his leadership in the second Boer War, where he became well known as a brave war hero according to (GlobalSecurity.org). The acknowledgement of a war hero led to him being elected to Parliament. While in the Parliament, Churchill changed from the conservative side to the liberal side due to his beliefs on the Tariff Reforms. Then in 1908 Herbert Henry Asquith appointed Winston into the Cabinet as the President of the Board of trade according to (Wikipedia.org). Wikipedia also explains how he used his position as president of trade to set up the first minimum wages in Britain. After he was finished with minimum wages he helped write the first unemployment pension...
Words: 2113 - Pages: 9
...Introduction: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill described himself as an English-Speaking Union, being the son of Lord Randolph Churchill and the American heiress Jennie Jerome. He was educated at Harrow and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and was sent to India with a cavalry commission in 1895. He won early fame as a war correspondent, covering the Cuban revolt against Spain (1895), and British campaigns in the Northwest Frontier of India (1897), the Sudan (1898) and South Africa during the Boer War (1899). Churchill had authored five books by the age of 26. His daring escape from a Boer prison camp in 1899 made him a national hero and ushered him into the House of Commons, where his career spanned 60 years. Churchill’s relationship with what he called “the Great Republic was a lifelong passion and a constant source of fascination for him. Churchill played a pivotal role in the events that shaped and affected the United States. The relationship between the USA and UK was important on a global scale during the early 20th century. As a politician in World War I, his actions, both success and failures, helped secure victory for the Allie and shaped too the nature of the post war world. As an ardent British imperialist and pragmatist he helped create the modern and wholly artificial state of Iraq; the origins of this century, its ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity are central to an understanding of the needs of the US and the wider world. (Berlin, 1981) ...
Words: 515 - Pages: 3
...Political Carrer Winston Churchill | | | 11/22/2011 11/22/2011 The Life and Career of Sir Winston Churchill Churchill was involved in every important event of England’s from the Boer War to World War II. He served six British monarchs, from Queen Victoria to Elizabeth II. Through his life he was a statesman, soldier, author, journalist and twice prime minister, Churchill’s career has no parallel in modern history. The Early Years Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, on November 30, 1874. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a brilliant politician, even though he was one of the most hated. His mother was the American Jennie Jerome. One of his ancestors was John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, a great military hero. Winston Churchill himself showed no early signs of greatness. He was in fact a stubborn, unruly, manipulative, and often difficult red-haired boy and a poor student. He was also given to unpredictable behavior. Before he was even seven years old, it was already clear that he was headstrong, highly opinionated, and virtually impossible to control. He spent four years at Harrow School at the very bottom of his class. However during this time he showed that he had a remarkable memory similar to his father's. He particularly enjoyed English. From early childhood soldiers and warfare fascinated Churchill and he often played with a large collection of lead soldiers in his nursery. His later years at...
Words: 6471 - Pages: 26
...Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill Biography The English statesman and author Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965) led Britain during World War II and is often described as the "savior of his country." Sir Winston Churchill's exact place in the political history of the 20th century is, and will continue to be, a subject of debate and polemical writing. Where he succeeded, and how much he personally had to do with that success, and where he failed, and why, remain to be established. That he was a political figure of enormous influence and importance, belonging in many ways to an age earlier than the 20th century, and that he fitted uneasily into the constraints of British party politics until his moment came in 1940 are not in doubt. Until recently his reputation during the years from 1940 onward was scarcely questioned. But now historians are beginning to reassess his career in just the same way as Churchill himself tried to revise T. B. Macaulay's account of the Duke of Marlborough by writing a multivolumed Life of his distinguished ancestor (completed in 1938). Churchill's record both before 1939 and after 1945 was for the most part undistinguished. But as Anthony Storr writes: "In 1940 Churchill became the hero that he had always dreamed of being. … In that dark time, what England needed was not a shrewd, equable, balanced leader. She needed a prophet, a heroic visionary, a man who could dream dreams of victory when all seemed lost. Winston Churchill...
Words: 2123 - Pages: 9
...During World War II many events happened such as the Holocaust and of course many important people were involved from Hitler, the president all the way to all the people who suffered in the concentration camps. I will tell you about 5 important people from the Holocaust and their importance, these people are: Adolph Hitler, Elie Wiesel, Sir Nicholas, Winston Churchill and Musolini. The first one I will inform you about is Adolf Hitler, which was the leader of the NAZI group, he was in charge of this group from 1934-1945. Hitler rose to power due to the fact when he came to Germany, it was under a great depression since they had an unstable economy and government, they had to pay reparations to the U.S. and their money value decreased. The people listened to Hitler and brain washed them which helped a lot to make “Germany a better place”. Hitler was the responsible one for the beginning of World War II and The Holocaust. He created a law called “Racial Hygiene” which consisted of a state policy that not everyone was equal and was treated different for their ethnicity, skin color, religion...
Words: 721 - Pages: 3
...Superman, Terry Fox, and Mother Teresa are well-known people that are considered heroes in today’s society. A hero is typically someone in society who is strong, good looking, and stands out over the average person. From the beginning, in George Orwell’s novel 1984, Winston has been portrayed as a fat old man with a gross varicose ulcer above his ankle. This shows that right from the start he is not the average hero. Winston’s name is ironic because it stands for the greatness of Winston Churchill, but on the other hand his surname is very common. Winston maintains heroic qualities that lead one to believe he will defeat the party, but against their public demands, he is just another one of the many citizens who conform to society. The government controls Winston through doublethink, mutability of the past and love, even though he is a man who can maintain his private virtue, he never stood a chance. The government makes public demands on Winston through forcing him to doublethink, changing the past and love. Doublethink is the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. It is not lying because lying is saying something that is wrong and knowing that it is wrong but still saying it. The party forces Oceania too accept both beliefs for example one week when the chocolate ration was 30 grams and the very next week is was lowered to 20 grams. Even though the ration is lowered drastically the party holds such a...
Words: 1839 - Pages: 8
...great wartime hero, Winston Churchill is no longer the country’s leader, in spite of his great effort and success overseas during the war. The right-wing Conservative leader thought to remain prime mister, expecting public gratitude. However, the English vote for parties, not people. There was a demographic impact within Britain that led to the swing of leadership from a more capitalist based party to a more socialist based party. The people of Britain were haunted by the 1930s, a world in which “seldom the all-importance of food is recognized. You see statues everywhere to politicians, poets, bishops, but none to cooks or bacon-curers or market gardeners”, as described by Orwell. A time in which the poor were overlooked and undermined, a land in which the people “bred in the slums can imagine nothing but the slums.” Why was Churchill, being the national hero that he was, rejected by the Britons? Was it the failure of the Conservatives, which gave rise to Labour; or was it the rise of Labour which led to the failure of the Conservatives? These are some key aspects that this essay will attempt to consider. This paper will focus on how the rise of Labour, through their efforts locally, won over the population in order achieve a significant victory. Conducive to that change in leadership was the lack of Tory focus on social-policy and attention towards the working-class, which emanated from the lack of party politicking on the part of Churchill himself. Churchill was the leader...
Words: 1883 - Pages: 8
...wrote in one of his passages, “Thinkers, geniuses, and those who have enlightened the world and furthered the race of men, are those who have made direct use of the world.” He believed that the greatest scientists, english professors, heros, and mathematicians have all gotten their greatness from taking valuable information away from books. Nowadays, it’s an actual scientifically proven fact that those who read are more intelligent. It’d be a shame if it wasn’t. Albert Einstein wouldn’t have been able to make theories about relativity from just nothing. He had to read findings from other physicists before him and branch off of their hypotheses. Einstein’s life proves Schopenhauer’s theory that great men read great books....
Words: 435 - Pages: 2
...those who say she saved Britain economically, and then there are her critics who say she destroyed the livelihoods of millions. Despite her doubters, it is evident the positive impact Margaret Thatcher had on not only the political crowd, but Great Britain as a whole. Margaret Thatcher was born in 1925 as a Margaret Roberts in the small town of Grantham in Lincolnshire. She grew up above her family’s grocery store and with the influence of her father. Her father, Alfred Roberts, was a Methodist and served as a Conservative councilor. Alfred made sure the values of hard work and public service were prominent in her early life. Margaret’s inspiration growing up was Winston Churchill because of his speeches that he gave refusing to give in to Nazism. To Thatcher, Churchill was a heroic figure and his attitude is what had the most influence on both her politics and personality. (Britannica) At first Margaret wanted to become a chemist and even went to the University of Oxford where she became the president of the student’s Conservative Association. She went on to graduate in 1947 and started her career as a scientist at BX Plastics, although she still wanted to further her interest in politics and so she also joined the Young Conservatives. (BBC) In 1949, she moved to Dartford to run for a seat in parliament. She was twenty-four at this time and the youngest Conservative candidate. She was denied a seat in 1950 and 1951, however she was not one to give up so easily. She decided...
Words: 1493 - Pages: 6
...Successful or Triumphed Winston Churchill once wrote; “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” What if failure is fatal though? Can we even really call that a success? While reading the story of Chris McCandless’s journey in Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild readers are left with did McCandless succeed? And can his travels across the United States and into the Alaskan wilderness be interpreted as a success? Even though he did go out into the wilderness alone with hardly anything at all people think he is a success. However, McCandless was not a success because he went out there with hardly knowing much and practically killed himself and ended up dying. To start off, Chris McCandless did not even know how to cook food properly in a microwave yet alone clean it. In other words, this goes to show he was not very successful. Early in the book Jon Krakauer states that Westerburg “Opened the...
Words: 586 - Pages: 3
...the book the conservative Earl of Walden is visited by Winston Churchill and is convinced to negotiate an alliance with Russia. In doing so, a young Russian admiral named Prince Aleksey Andreyevich Orlov is sent to London with plans of negotiating the alliance between the Russian and British government. However, little does he know Feliks Kschessinksy a Russian anarchist plans to assassinate him, decreasing the possibilities of an alliance and saving the lives of millions of innocent Russians who would be forced to take part in the war. Although this book is fictional I believe that Ken Follet did an exceptional job portraying the reality of the early twentieth century. He was able to describe not only the class systems but the ideologies and points of view from all angles based the characters background and beliefs. He was also able to put into perspective the different political views and battles that occurred between different European governments. Much like the society we live in today people are not only based on their social status but also by where they came from and I believe Ken Follet was able to depict that as well. What stood out to me the most was how he portrayed Feliks Kschessinksy a Russian anarchist beliefs and values. In the book Feliks displayed compassion for Russian peasants much like himself and realized the danger joining the war would put innocent people in. He made the effort to stand up for what he believed in and did everything in his power to stop...
Words: 771 - Pages: 4
...Phoenix University History 135 Instructor, Student, Assignment: Significant events in the decades after World War II Due date, Preface Americans faced many challenges in their lives; challenges on a variety of fronts shattered the American consensus. In the 50s, African Americans launched a crusade, joined later by other minority groups and women, for a larger share of the American dream. In the 60s, politically active students protested the nation's role abroad, particularly in the corrosive war in Vietnam, and a youth counterculture challenged the status quo of American values. Americans from many walks of life sought to establish a new equilibrium in the United States, the following time synopsis will shed some light on turning points in our American history. * 1940s, Civil Rights, a time for change. Harry Truman supported the civil rights movement. He believed in political equality, though not in social equality, and recognized the growing importance of the black urban vote. When apprised in 1946 of lynching’s and other forms of mob violence still practiced in the South, he appointed a committee on civil rights to investigate discrimination based on race and religion. The report, issued the next year, documented blacks' second-class status in American life. It asserted the need for the federal government to secure the rights guaranteed to all citizens. Truman responded by sending a 10-point civil rights program to Congress. When Southern Democrats...
Words: 2010 - Pages: 9
...Why I Joined the Army I recently joined the U.S. Army and will be leaving for basic combat training in a matter of weeks. My decision to enlist has been met with responses that range from dissatisfaction to confusion to admiration. But among those who do express their opinions, one question pervades, "Why did you do it?" Some people have asked why I would leave my son without his mother for so long. Others inquire about my motivation for enlisting during a time of war. There are those who wonder at my sanity for giving up a five thousand dollar a month job. Still more ask why I would leave school when I am accomplishing so much. I can answer each of these probing questions by stating my unshakable belief in seven priceless values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and courage. Loyalty is an allegiance to something. My allegiance to the United States of America is more than just a line I recite when saying the pledge. Rather, it is an honest, deep, binding loyalty to my country and its people. My decision to join the Army is an expression of that love. Duty is the moral or legal obligation to take action. I understand that every right ordains an accompanying responsibility. We did not become the great nation we are by accident; we earned the distinction, and we must never forget the price of that freedom. It was paid in blood by countless Americans who were willing to answer the call of duty. My decision to join the Army is a fulfillment of that...
Words: 851 - Pages: 4
...The devastation of the Great War (as World War I was known at the time) had greatly destabilized Europe, and in many respects World War II grew out of issues left unresolved by that earlier conflict. In particular, political and economic instability in Germany, and lingering resentment over the harsh terms imposed by the Versailles Treaty, fueled the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi) Party. After becoming Reich Chancellor in 1933, Hitler swiftly consolidated power, anointing himself Führer (supreme leader) in 1934. Obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the "pure" German race, which he called "Aryan," Hitler believed that war was the only way to gain the necessary "Lebensraum," or living space, for that race to expand. In the mid-1930s, he began the rearmament of Germany, secretly and in violation of the Versailles Treaty. After signing alliances with Italy and Japan against the Soviet Union, Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria in 1938 and the following year annexed Czechoslovakia. Hitler's open aggression went unchecked, as the United States and Soviet Union were concentrated on internal politics at the time, and neither France nor Britain (the two other nations most devastated by the Great War) were eager for confrontation. Outbreak of World War II (1939) In late August 1939, Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, which incited a frenzy of worry in London and Paris. Hitler had long planned...
Words: 785 - Pages: 4
