March 5, 1946

One of the most important speeches Churchill would give in his career was his ‘Sinews of Peace’ otherwise known as his ‘Iron Curtain’ speech. As in the past, Churchill was prescient at this time in describing the aggressive ambitions of the Soviet Union.

Given at Westminster College in Missouri just a year after the end of the Second World War, this speech would set the stage for the next forty five years of the ‘Cold War’. Why did he travel to Fulton, Missouri? Because the invitation was endorsed by President Truman, who agreed to introduce him. This guaranteed huge interest across the United States and around the world.

Churchill is sometimes given credit for coining the term ‘Iron Curtain’. However, as was his habit, he’d actually read and memorized the line from many years earlier.

Remarkably, Churchill wrote all of his own speeches. For the major speeches such as this one, he would spend an hour of preparation for every minute of his speech.