Churchill, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer, British statesman, soldier, and author: The Postwar Period
The Postwar Period
The British nation supported the vigorous program of Churchill's coalition cabinet until after the surrender of Germany. Then in July, 1945, Britain's desire for rapid social reform led to a Labour electoral victory, and Churchill became leader of the opposition. In 1946, on a visit to the United States, he made a controversial speech at Fulton, Mo., in which he warned of the expansive tendencies of the USSR (he had distrusted the Soviet government since its inception, when he had been a leading advocate of Western intervention to overthrow it) and coined the expression “Iron Curtain.” Nonetheless, in the early 1950s he attempted to reach some sort of understanding with Stalin, but was unsuccessful largely due to the strong anti-Communist stance of the United States.
As prime minister again from 1951 until his resignation in 1955, he ended nationalization of the steel and auto industries but maintained most other socialist measures instituted by the Labour government. In 1953 Churchill was knighted, and awarded the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his writing and oratory. His biographical and autobiographical works include
Sections in this article:
- Introduction
- Character and Influence
- The Postwar Period
- World War II
- Early Government Posts
- Early Career
- Bibliography
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