Churchill's+Iron+Curtain+Speech+-+12-13

= Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech  =



Winston Churchill Giving "The Sinews of Peace" speech http://derrickjeter.com/2013/03/05/speeches-that-made-history-winston-churchills-iron-curtain/ =Introduction= On March 5, 1946, Churchill gave an inspiring speech at Westminster College, Missouri that accurately described the post-war situation of Europe. Officially titled "The Sinews of Peace," His speech expressed concern for the communist divide occurring between European nations by describing the imaginary dividing line as an "Iron Curtain." This speech coined the term "Iron Curtain" and allowed for a popular and widespread use of the term to refer to the European situation. "The Sinews of Peace" did more than coin this term. Reflecting Churchill's United Kingdom stance, it also served to praise the United States as being at the "pinnacle of the world power," supporting a "closer relationship" between USA and UK and denouncing Soviet communism as "militarily weak." Red line represents the "Iron Curtain" dividing Europe. http://brettanderson.co.uk/forum/read.php?3,179397

=Major Players Involved= //United Kingdom// Churchill's stance shows that the United Kingdom is clearly submitting the the United States of America. Not only is this very new, but this also reflects the idea that the United States of America has now become an active world power, with an increased global presence and no longer resorting to isolationism.

United States of America As the NATO countries have been assembled under the United States of America, Churchill's iron curtain speech and the situation it describes clearly shows that the United States of America are looked upon as a protector of capitalism, with its Truman Doctrine and policies fighting communism. USA is no doubt, a major party in putting down the Iron Curtain in Europe, and is probably responsible for lifting it again.

//USSR// The USSR, with its invasion and seizure of Eastern Europe has now become a major communist aggressor to the NATO nations, as the iron curtain speech mentions. Its army and government is majorly military based, which Churchill criticizes in his speech.

=Dates= //February, 1945// Yalta Conference (Sets beginnings for the Iron Curtain to be put down by dividing Germany amongst capitalist and communist nations) //March 5th, 1946// Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech //1949// The establishment of NATO (escalating tensions between the two forces the Iron Curtain divides) //1955// The establishment of the Warsaw Pact

=The Outcome= Even after the "establishment" of the Iron Curtain, division betweenthe two European sides continued. With the implementation of the Marshall Plan in Western Europe, a larger gap in the economic and social status of West and Eastern Europe increases. In addition, when the USSR attempted to stop the migration of East Berliners into West Berlin by constructing a physical Berlin Wall and blocking USA's access to West Berlin, the idea of the Iron Curtain was clearly manifesting itself.

The Division of Berilin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade

=Significance in the Cold War= All underlying causes of the Cold War starts at the Iron Curtain, the intense hatred and incompatibility between Capitalism and Communism. The physical division of communism from capitalism in Europe was what was reflected throughout the entire Cold War as USSR struggled to spread and support Communism while USA strived to preserve capitalism. It is this underlying conflict of governmental and economic ideologies reflected by the Iron Curtain, that set up USA and USSR against each other to fuel the Cold War tensions.

=Bibliography=

Category. "Iron Curtain Speech by Winston Churchill." 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . "Churchill delivers Iron Curtain speech â€” History.com This Day in History â€” 3/5/1946." History.com â€” History Made Every Day â€” American & World History. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . "NATO - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . SSR, elorussian. "Warsaw Pact - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . SSR, elorussian. "Iron Curtain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. .