Last month marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of Winston Churchill, one of the most notable personages of the 20C and certainly among the most interesting. I’ve been a Churchill fan for some time and have done some deep dives into his biographies, scholarly work, a gaggle of movies and tv shows, and some of his own (copious) writings. He was remarkable, complex, elitist (racist?), courageous, bull-headed, idiosyncratic, a greater orator, an influential historian, a political chameleon, and an important statesman. His He did enough interesting things that even if he had died at 65 and hadn’t been Prime Minister twice and led the fight against the Nazis, he would have had a pretty amazing life.
I was thinking of him the other day because a TV show featured a scene set at Blenheim Palace where he was born, the eldest son of the third son of the seventh Duke of Marlborough. The first Duke, John Churchill, was a major statesman and military commander at the end of the 17C (the palace is named for the site of his most famous victory).
The principal biography runs eight (hefty) volumes. His Wikipedia entry runs about 25,000 words, so my thousand-word blog posting can only hit a few points and angles. Similarly, his Wikiquotes page runs even longer. For persons who lived during WWII, recordings of his speeches remain indelibly etched. Reading them now, or even hearing recordings don’t do his speeches justice. For that, we need to feel the moment and the context; it’s hard to do. Still, he did have quite a few bon mots.
For students of empire, geopolitics or either World War he remains an essential figure. His longevity (more than sixty years as a member of Parliament, eleven different Cabinet offices stretching across more than fifty years) makes him unique among world political figures. There are plenty of leaders who have dominated their second-, third-, and fourth-class countries for more than two decades. He, along with Stalin, Mao, Nehru, and De Gaulle were the only ones who bestrode the world stage for such a lengthy period. WWI, WWII, and the creation of the post-war world made the mid-20C a unique period and we are unlikely to see such giants again (although Putin is making a run for this rank!). American Presidents are usually not so noteworthy before they take office, nor influential thereafter. It’s hard to imagine a lot of interest in Coolidge, Truman, Carter, or either Bush (even FDR!), if they had never sat in the White House. Nixon, who had a significance well before he was President and some sort of highly-marred senior statesman status afterwards, may be the exception.
Churchill’s leadership of the British Empire during WWII has ensured his hagiographic status. WWII generally was good for that sort of thing; much more black-and-white than other conflicts. His fans can make a pretty case for his indispensability at this turning point in modern history; a strong argument for the “great man” theory of history. It is left to historians to chip away at the statue. He was born at the height of the British Empire and remained stuck in the mentality of superiority and power well after the rest of the world was moving on to more democratic and less discriminatory modes. Ironically, it was this deep attachment to (his vision of) the Empire allowed him to evoke it both in speeches and in recruiting the increasingly independent Dominions to yoke themselves once again to the defense of the Mother Island. At the same time, it seems clear that he valued Indians, Africans, and other colonial peoples less than whites.
He was also known for his ‘realpolitik’ view of the world, hating Communism but striking an alliance with Stalin in the face of the greater danger of Nazidom and regretting the loss of British power that made it necessary to divvy up all of post-war Europe (famously scrawled on the back of a napkin, passed over to Stalin, who wrote a check mark on it and the deal was done) into spheres of influence divided by what he later famously described as “an iron curtain.”
Churchill made his living as a writer, initially as a journalist, later as a public speaker and politician and as the author of massive sets on his great ancestor, and each of the two world wars. He was fully conscious of his role in history and made clear his intent to ensure that he would be well regarded—by writing it himself! He was pretty successful in this, laying down narratives which—if not mythic—were at least well-bolstered in a favorable view of his actions and those of the British “race.” After the War, everyone was trying to honor him. The Nobel gang in Stockholm couldn’t very well give the Peace Prize to such a war leader, so they gave him the Literature medal instead. I mean, really!? His books are pretty good, after a fashion, but…
In his second term as PM (1951-55) he was increasingly out-of-touch, but rode the tide of post-war adulation even to the point of hiding from the public for six months the fact that he suffered a stroke. He passed the baton to Anthony Eden, his loyal lieutenant for more than two decades even though he suspected that Eden was not up to the job as PM. He faded in his eighties, now out of office and rarely even in the House of Commons.
I have a vague recollection of awareness of his death in 1965 at the age of 90 (I was 11). He was the only non-Royal to have a State Funeral in the 20C and the great loading cranes along the docks dipped as his funeral barge rode up the Thames towards Blenheim.
Oh, he also loved to paint watercolors and drink champagne. Quite a guy.
I was thinking of him the other day because a TV show featured a scene set at Blenheim Palace where he was born, the eldest son of the third son of the seventh Duke of Marlborough. The first Duke, John Churchill, was a major statesman and military commander at the end of the 17C (the palace is named for the site of his most famous victory).
The principal biography runs eight (hefty) volumes. His Wikipedia entry runs about 25,000 words, so my thousand-word blog posting can only hit a few points and angles. Similarly, his Wikiquotes page runs even longer. For persons who lived during WWII, recordings of his speeches remain indelibly etched. Reading them now, or even hearing recordings don’t do his speeches justice. For that, we need to feel the moment and the context; it’s hard to do. Still, he did have quite a few bon mots.
For students of empire, geopolitics or either World War he remains an essential figure. His longevity (more than sixty years as a member of Parliament, eleven different Cabinet offices stretching across more than fifty years) makes him unique among world political figures. There are plenty of leaders who have dominated their second-, third-, and fourth-class countries for more than two decades. He, along with Stalin, Mao, Nehru, and De Gaulle were the only ones who bestrode the world stage for such a lengthy period. WWI, WWII, and the creation of the post-war world made the mid-20C a unique period and we are unlikely to see such giants again (although Putin is making a run for this rank!). American Presidents are usually not so noteworthy before they take office, nor influential thereafter. It’s hard to imagine a lot of interest in Coolidge, Truman, Carter, or either Bush (even FDR!), if they had never sat in the White House. Nixon, who had a significance well before he was President and some sort of highly-marred senior statesman status afterwards, may be the exception.
Churchill’s leadership of the British Empire during WWII has ensured his hagiographic status. WWII generally was good for that sort of thing; much more black-and-white than other conflicts. His fans can make a pretty case for his indispensability at this turning point in modern history; a strong argument for the “great man” theory of history. It is left to historians to chip away at the statue. He was born at the height of the British Empire and remained stuck in the mentality of superiority and power well after the rest of the world was moving on to more democratic and less discriminatory modes. Ironically, it was this deep attachment to (his vision of) the Empire allowed him to evoke it both in speeches and in recruiting the increasingly independent Dominions to yoke themselves once again to the defense of the Mother Island. At the same time, it seems clear that he valued Indians, Africans, and other colonial peoples less than whites.
He was also known for his ‘realpolitik’ view of the world, hating Communism but striking an alliance with Stalin in the face of the greater danger of Nazidom and regretting the loss of British power that made it necessary to divvy up all of post-war Europe (famously scrawled on the back of a napkin, passed over to Stalin, who wrote a check mark on it and the deal was done) into spheres of influence divided by what he later famously described as “an iron curtain.”
Churchill made his living as a writer, initially as a journalist, later as a public speaker and politician and as the author of massive sets on his great ancestor, and each of the two world wars. He was fully conscious of his role in history and made clear his intent to ensure that he would be well regarded—by writing it himself! He was pretty successful in this, laying down narratives which—if not mythic—were at least well-bolstered in a favorable view of his actions and those of the British “race.” After the War, everyone was trying to honor him. The Nobel gang in Stockholm couldn’t very well give the Peace Prize to such a war leader, so they gave him the Literature medal instead. I mean, really!? His books are pretty good, after a fashion, but…
In his second term as PM (1951-55) he was increasingly out-of-touch, but rode the tide of post-war adulation even to the point of hiding from the public for six months the fact that he suffered a stroke. He passed the baton to Anthony Eden, his loyal lieutenant for more than two decades even though he suspected that Eden was not up to the job as PM. He faded in his eighties, now out of office and rarely even in the House of Commons.
I have a vague recollection of awareness of his death in 1965 at the age of 90 (I was 11). He was the only non-Royal to have a State Funeral in the 20C and the great loading cranes along the docks dipped as his funeral barge rode up the Thames towards Blenheim.
Oh, he also loved to paint watercolors and drink champagne. Quite a guy.
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