Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-17-2024
Abstract
Many historians such as David Reynolds and J. Samuel Walker mark the beginning of the Cold War with Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech in Fulton, Missouri. Other historians, such as Jennifer Luff have argued, however, that anticommunism attitudes had existed in the United States of America (USA) long before the threat of the Russian Soviet Union (USSR), and these attitudes were only amplified by the words of Churchill. Historians have long examined the attitudes of the USA and the United Kingdom (UK) toward socialism and communism in the year before, during, and after World War II. While both countries struggled with the idea of communism, their reactions, and general attitudes to social were dramatically different. This paper examines sources to determine how the USA and the UK came together against the USSR to stop the spread of communism. There are many theories about how, when, and why the tensions between the Americans and the Soviets rose to the heights that they did. Some historians cite Churchill as the instigator while others side with the idea that these tensions had existed for decades before the threat of the USSR. By examining the carefully curated image of Churchill and the American attitudes about the Soviets and socialism in general this paper argues that Churchill’s speech was taken as a call to action for the Western powers to come together in the fight against communism.
Recommended Citation
Brokob, Jocelyn, "Winston Churchill and the Beginnings of the Cold War" (2024). Oral Presentations. 1.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/papers_2024/1
