When Churchill Dissed America

History resource article by Mary Harrsch

William Churchill at Madame Tussauds in London.
Photographed by Mary Harrsch © 2006

I found this article in The Smithsonian Magazine about Winston Churchill's real feelings about the U.S. during the Second World War absolutely fascinating.

A synopsis provided by the publisher:

"Throughout a political career that spanned two-thirds of a century, Churchill never publicly criticized the United States or the American people. Yet, as author, Andrew Roberts discovered while writing his new biography, Winston Churchill: Walking With Destiny, Churchill took a very different stance in private. From a variety of different sources—including the wartime diaries of King George VI in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, opened to Roberts by the gracious permission of the Queen—it is clear that Churchill regularly expressed searing criticism of the United States, and especially the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II.

Roberts writes, “[Churchill’s] public reticence to criticize the United States reflected two aspects of his character that were often to the fore throughout his political career. The first was his capacity ruthlessly to sacrifice the trivial and the short-term for the greater prize. The second was his powerful sense of personal and national destiny. He foresaw a time when Britain would need the United States desperately.”

Roberts book is available for Preorder now from Amazon.

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