Iron Curtain Speech Example
Iron Curtain Speech Journal Assignment
1. What type of document is this? In other words, in what genre is the text written?
This type of document is a speech delivered by Winston Churchill in 1946. 2. Trace the genealogy of this speech. From where did this document come, when was the original written, and do any other versions survive?
On March 5th, 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered a speech at Westminster College in Fulton Missouri known as the “Iron Curtain.”
3. Put this speech in historical context. In other words, how does the date of this speech and its delivery fit into this larger epoch of history that I have termed the prelude to the Cold War (1945-1946)?
The speech was delivered in 1946, just after the end of the Second World War. More specifically, it was delivered months after Churchill was not re-elected for office. The historical context of the speech suggests that the conclusion of the war has divided Europe into East and West, the East being controlled by the Soviet Union.
4. Churchill is obviously the speaker, but who is his audience both immediately and more indirectly?
The immediate audience was a few thousand students, professors and President Harry Thurman at Westminster College. The indirect audience was to the American and Commonwealth people, or as Churchill phrased it the “English speaking world.”
5. What is the main argument made by Churchill (In other words, what do you think he is trying to accomplish by giving this speech)?
Churchill’s main argument of the speech was to promote strengthened Anglo-American combination and a firmer western front against the Soviet Union. Churchill argues that the western democracies should take the initiative to stop the spread of communist ideals. He reasons that if they fail to stop it, a catastrophe will befall them. Using a comparison to WWII and how it may have been prevented without losing any lives and the destruction of
1. What type of document is this? In other words, in what genre is the text written?
This type of document is a speech delivered by Winston Churchill in 1946. 2. Trace the genealogy of this speech. From where did this document come, when was the original written, and do any other versions survive?
On March 5th, 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered a speech at Westminster College in Fulton Missouri known as the “Iron Curtain.”
3. Put this speech in historical context. In other words, how does the date of this speech and its delivery fit into this larger epoch of history that I have termed the prelude to the Cold War (1945-1946)?
The speech was delivered in 1946, just after the end of the Second World War. More specifically, it was delivered months after Churchill was not re-elected for office. The historical context of the speech suggests that the conclusion of the war has divided Europe into East and West, the East being controlled by the Soviet Union.
4. Churchill is obviously the speaker, but who is his audience both immediately and more indirectly?
The immediate audience was a few thousand students, professors and President Harry Thurman at Westminster College. The indirect audience was to the American and Commonwealth people, or as Churchill phrased it the “English speaking world.”
5. What is the main argument made by Churchill (In other words, what do you think he is trying to accomplish by giving this speech)?
Churchill’s main argument of the speech was to promote strengthened Anglo-American combination and a firmer western front against the Soviet Union. Churchill argues that the western democracies should take the initiative to stop the spread of communist ideals. He reasons that if they fail to stop it, a catastrophe will befall them. Using a comparison to WWII and how it may have been prevented without losing any lives and the destruction of