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His Father's Son
In 1900 Churchill began a remarkable career in the same political world where his father, Randolph, had left a brilliant, if brief, impression. Elected to Parliament as a hero of the Boer War, Churchill soon became known for his indefatigable energy and rhetorical eloquence. |
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The Dance of Politics
A fervent advocate of free trade and low tariffs, Churchill switched his political affiliation from Conservative to Liberal in 1904. Many viewed his action as disloyal and opportunistic. Churchill's subsequent career, however, revealed strong inclinations toward social reform and a concern for the welfare of the less fortunate. Churchill's ascent to power became even more rapid after the Liberals won a decisive electoral victory in 1906. In swift succession, his party's leaders entrusted to him a series of important positions leading to a seat in the Cabinet. By 1911, at the age of thirty-six, he was serving as First Lord of the Admiralty--the civilian head of Britain's navy. On the eve of World War I the young politician had established himself as one of his nation's most influential public figures. |
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Fall From Power
The outbreak of World War I in 1914 offered Churchill his first opportunity to influence events on a global scale. Dismayed by the development of the bloody stalemate in Europe, Churchill, the energetic First Lord of the Admiralty, promoted the development and use of such new weapons as airplanes and tanks. He also sent an expedition to attack Germany's ally, Turkey, through the Dardanelles Strait. This military effort failed, contributing to his fall from power. Widely blamed and thoroughly disheartened, Churchill volunteered for six months as an infantry officer on the western front. |
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John Spencer Churchill to the Duke of Marlborough, July 3, 1915 |
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Winston Churchill to Admiral Lord Fisher, April 8, 1915 |
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H.E.C. Robinson. Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara, Bosporus |
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Winston Churchill to the Dardanelles Committee, October 4, 1915 |
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Photograph of ANZAC Beach, Gallipoli Peninsula |
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Anonymous. Winston Churchill in Blenheim Palace, 1916 |
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"Chequered Fortunes"
In 1917, what Churchill called his "chequered fortunes" changed, and he was returned to public office. Churchill took charge of Britain's armaments production and worked closely with his American counterparts until an armistice was concluded on November 11, 1918.
Following World War I, Churchill assumed even more responsible political positions. As his government's special emissary, he had mixed success in coping with war-related disruptions in such widely separated places as Russia, Ireland, Palestine, and Iraq. By 1924 Churchill, a Conservative once more, had become Chancellor of the Exchequer, a post once held by his father and considered to be second only to that of prime minister. He would remain in this post until 1929, when the Labor Party returned to power. |
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"The Wilderness Years"
Though he was without an official position, Churchill spent much of the 1930s warning Britain and the world of the danger of Hitler's Nazi Germany. Churchill also continued to express his opinions on domestic British politics. In 1937, when Edward VIII was pressured to resign the throne over his determination to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson, Churchill was one of the few who defended the King. Churchill's support of the King was damaging to him—he was shouted down in Parliament and appeared out of touch with mainstream politics. |
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Prime Minister
In September 1939 Germany invaded Poland. The attack touched off the world struggle that Churchill would later call "The Unnecessary War" because he felt a firm policy toward aggressor nations after World War I would have prevented the conflict. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain brought Churchill into government again as First Lord of the Admiralty. On May 10, 1940, as the Germans were beginning to attack the British and French ground forces arrayed against them, Churchill became Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. He later wrote, "I felt as if I were walking with Destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial." |
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Dropping the Pilot
Toward the end of World War II, Churchill's governing coalition dissolved, and he was forced to undertake a political campaign while the sole remaining Axis enemy, Japan, was yet to be defeated. In the middle of the final wartime conference, held in Potsdam, Germany, he learned that the British electorate had turned him and his Conservative Party out of office. After his defeat, his wife Clementine told him, "It may well be a blessing in disguise." Churchill replied, "At the moment it seems quite effectively disguised." |
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Return to Office
In the late 1940s, Churchill continued to speak out on the great issues--the Cold War, the atomic bomb, and European unity--always stressing the importance of a "special relationship" between the British Empire and the United States. Then, in October 1951, the Conservative Party won the general election, and he returned as Prime Minister. During his second premiership Churchill worked hard to strengthen Anglo-American relations, retain British global influence, and, above all, initiate a summit meeting with Stalin's successors in the Kremlin. |
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Retirement
Churchill finally retired from public life in April 1955, at the age of eighty. Although he no longer played an active role in politics, Churchill retained his seat in the British Parliament until 1964. His final years were devoted to writing, painting, travel, and reaping the rewards earned by a lifetime of accomplishment. |
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