Interpretations of Winston Churchill Flashcards
1
Q
Career Negative
WW1 1914-1918
Gallipoli, 1915:
A
- in 1914 WW1 broke out across Europe
- Churchill was made First Lord of the Admiralty
- He was determined to win the war, no matter the costs
- In 1915, he planned a risky attack on Turkey
- Gallipoli campaign was a disaster
- Lasting 8 months – ended in 160,000 British casualties
- Churchill resigned in Nov 1915
2
Q
Career Negative
The Wilderness Years
A
- Conservative Party defeated in 1929 in general election
- Churchill was isolated by the conservative leadership
- Many historians referred to this period as his “Wilderness Years” because Churchill had no power
- Being detached from the party leadership allowed him to voice some extreme views
- -> Gandhi-ism
- -> Supported prince marrying a divorcee
- -> Churchill in minority against appeasement with Germany
3
Q
Career Negative
Chancellor of the Exchequer:
A
- 1924 – 1929
- 1924 – Churchill re-joined the Conservative Party because he thought it was a stronger opposition to the new Labour Party
- 1924-1929 – Churchill was Chancellor of Exchequer
- His decisions caused a fall in the value of the £
- There was a downturn in the economy
- Huge increase in employment
- In 1926 – there was a general strike
- Churchill suggested using army against workers (as he had in Tonypandy) – but the gov rejected this
4
Q
Career Positive
WW1 1914-1918
The Western Front, 1916
A
- In 1916, Churchill decided to join the army, becoming battalion commander on the Western Front
- Becoming a battalion commander on the Western Front – did this to restore his reputation after the disaster of Gallipoli
- Churchill’s battalion didn’t take part in any major battles, but spent time on frontline and placed himself in danger
5
Q
Career Positive
After WW2
A
- Despite leading country to victory in war – Churchill and the Conservative Party lost the general election of July 1945 to the Labour Party
- Churchill continued to lead the Conservatives
- In the years after 1945 – he was concerned about the threat to Europe and the USA from the growing power of the Soviet Union
- Churchill won the general election of 1951 and became PM again
- But he suffered several strokes and eventually retired in 1955
- In 1965 – he died from severe stroke
- Churchill was given a full state funeral – normally reserved only for members of the Royal Family
6
Q
Career Positive
War Leader
A
- June 1940-43
- In June 1940 – Churchill took lead in defeating Nazis by appointing himself as Minister for War
- Devoted to task – often 18hr work days
Battle of Britain – 1940
- For rest of 1940 – Churchill and his cabinet focused on immediate threat posed by Nazi bombings
- July 1940 – Nov 1940 – RAF fought German Luftwaffe for control of the skies above Britain
- Skill of RAF pilots + superior plans = victory in Battle of Britain
- In another great speech he said “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
7
Q
Career Positive
PM
A
- 1939 – May 1940
- Appeasement didn’t prevent war
- Sept 1939 – Nazis invaded Poland – as a result Britain declared war on Germany and WW2 began
- Churchill made First Lord of the Admiralty again
- 1st 8 months known as the “Phoney War” because not a lot happened
- Although British forces entered mainland Europe not much fighting happened
- Public and politicians soon began criticising PM, Neville Chamberlain, for lack of vision
- 10 May 1940 – Chamberlain resigned and recommended that Churchill be made PM
- Surprising choice give Churchill’s popularity
- Hrs after resignation Germany invaded Belgium and France
- British soldiers pushed back to Dunkirk beaches
- 330,000 British soldiers in danger
- -> Many tried to persuade Churchill to surrender to Germans – he refused
- -> Boats of any size encouraged to sail to Dunkirk to rescue soldiers
- -> Most soldiers rescued – “miracle”
- Next day he stood in House of Commons and delivered one of his greatest speeches
- ->“We shall never surrender”
- -> Gave people hope and truth
8
Q
Career Positive
Liberal Party 1904 – 1914
A
- 1900 Churchill elected as a Conservative MP
- 4 yrs later – swapped parties and joined Liberal party
- In 1906 elections, Liberals gained huge majority and by 1908 he was promoted to cabinet as Home Secretary
- With PM David Lloyd George – introduced series of reforms to improve lives of working class people:
- -> Old Age Pensions Act gave people wages when they retired
- -> National Insurance Act gave people short-term help when sick or unemployed
9
Q
Positives for Views on Race:
A
- Churchill’s views on race were incomparable to Hitler’s murderous interpretation of racial hierarchy
- although Hitler did think white people were superior he didn’t think it was necessarily ok to treat non-whit people in an inhumane way
10
Q
Negatives for Views on Race:
A
- was a racist and white supremacist
- -> saw himself and Britain as being winners in the social Darwinian hierarchy
- -> in 1937 told Royal Palestinian Government that he didn’t admit a “great wrong had been to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong had been done to these people by the fact that a higher-grade race, a more worldly, wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place
- -> believed in racial hierarchies and eugenics with white protestants at the top and Indians and Black Africans very far down
11
Q
Positives of Poison Gas:
A
-in 1919, heavily used in WW1 and effective
12
Q
Negatives of Poison Gas:
A
- advocating use of chemical weapons – primarily against Kurds and Afghans
- that it should be used against “uncivilised tribes” - Churchill
13
Q
Positives of Bengal Famine:
A
- he was running a global war and had conflicting priorities
- he won’t be able to get everything right
- Arthur Herman argued that without Churchill the famine would’ve been worse
14
Q
Negatived of Bengal Famine:
A
- 1943
- at least 3 mil died from starvation due to Churchill’s lack of action
- he ordered a build-up of stockpile wheat for feeding European civilians after they had been liberated
- 170,000 tonnes of Australian wheat bypassed starving India – destined not for consumption but storage
- he took barely any of the little effort that could’ve alleviated the stress in Bengal
15
Q
Positives for Statements about Ghandi:
A
- saw Ghandi as a threat to the British Empire
- didn’t want India to make any moves towards self-governing
- he was terribly alarmed that giving Indians home-rule was going to lead to the downfall of the British Empire (which he had worked so hard to preserve and support), and civilisation
16
Q
Negatives for Statements about Ghandi:
A
- had strong, negative views on man now widely respected for advocating his work in self-determination in India
- hostile to Hinduism
- “alarming and nauseating” to see Ghandi “striding half-naked up the steps of the Vice-Regal Palace” – Churchill said of his anti-colonialist adversary in 1931
17
Q
Positives for Attitudes towards Islams:
A
- ant-Islam stance most common view shared by British people of Churchill’s era – so had a pov which was common for that times
- fascinated with Islam enough that his family were concerned, at one point, that he was going to convers
- in 1940, his cabinet aet aside £100,000 for construction of mosque in London in recognition of the Indian Muslims who fought for the BE
- went on holiday in Istanbul
- played polo in India with Muslims
- complex relationship with Islam
18
Q
Negatives for Attitudes towards Islam:
A
- Islamophobic
- Anti-Islam stance
- “Improvident habitats, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerse and insecurity exist wherever the followers of the Prophet live or rule.” – Churchill
- Paul Weston (chairman of Liberal GB party) arrested last year of suspicions of racial harassment after reading aloud some of Churchill’s thoughts on Islam
19
Q
Positives for attitudes towards Jews:
A
- fervent Zionist (a fervent believer in the right of Jewish people to a state of their own)
- being anti-Semitic + Zionist = not compatible
- casual anti-Semitism normalised for his time, kind and era
20
Q
Negatives for Attitudes towards Jews:
A
- anti-Semitic
- had racist/anti-Semitic views on Jews – “most formidable and most remarkable race which has ever appeared in the world.”
21
Q
Positives for Treatment of Strikers:
A
- allegations of shots being fired at the Tonypandy riots were unfounded
- he had sent a memo expressly denying that the use of violence was a possibility
- supported quite radical reform (more in form of Victorian paternalism)
- had a very anti-union reputation but went on to run 2 very conciliatory governments
22
Q
Negatives for Treatment of Strikers:
A
- reputation of being anti-union stems from his handling of the Tonypandy riots (riots due to dispute between workers and mine owners) – when strikers clashed with he called in soldier - allegations of shots being fired, ill feeling towards him in South Wales for the rest of his life
- 1yr later soldiers called in to striker-related riots in Liverpool – soldiers did fire and 2 people were killed
- 1919 – under Churchill – 10,000 troops deployed to Glasgow during a period of wide-spread strikes and civil unrest amid fear of Bolshevist revolt
23
Q
Positives of Sidney Street Siege:
A
-gang were a threat as they had killed 3 policemen and needed to be dealt with
24
Q
Negatives of Sidney Street Seige:
A
- long gunfight in Jan 1911
- 200 police surrounded hideout of gang led by “Peter the Painter” – killed 3 policemen month before
- controversy for Churchill arose from appearance that he’d been issuing orders and directly meddling in police operations
- example of rashness and instability
- risked valuable lives
- used this as a photo opportunity
25
Q
Positives of Role in Ireland:
A
- was an early advocate of the partition
- played a key role in Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which ended the war
- expressed support of home-rule as early as 1921
- recognised the role that Irish personnel serving in the British Armed Forces play in WW1 and later played in WW2
26
Q
Negatives of Role in Ireland:
A
- most assosciated with deploying controversial “Black and Tans” (name comes from uniform) to fight IRA – do stand them developed a reputation for excessive use of violence
- he repeatedly refused and even advocated their use of air power
- implemented harsh repressions
27
Q
Positives of Cash for Influence:
A
- can’t call what he did as bribery because he did nothing illegal as rules about bribery were not set yet
- politicians’ links with business and the media weren’t under the same level of scrutiny as they are now
- he was operating in a slightly different ethical environment
28
Q
Negatives of Cash for Influence:
A
- 1932 payment – in return for £5,000, 2 oil companies asked him to represent them in their application to the government for a merger
- accepted all sorts of gifts which in todays full disclosure would get you expelled from the Commons
