March 5, 1946

Sinews of Peace

Churchill delivers “The Sinews of Peace” speech at Fulton

A sitting American president introduced him in a Missouri college gymnasium — and three days later publicly distanced himself from what the speech said.

A private citizen at a college lecture

On 5 March 1946 Winston Churchill addressed Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, delivering the Green Foundation lecture. He was no longer prime minister and said explicitly that he had no official mission and spoke only for himself.

President Harry S. Truman introduced him, having endorsed the invitation from college president Franc L. McCluer; both men received honorary degrees at the ceremony.

Churchill's own title for the address was 'The Sinews of Peace' — not 'The Iron Curtain Speech.'

Stettin to Trieste

He said an 'iron curtain' had descended from Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic, placing Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia within what he called the Soviet sphere.

He did not coin the phrase at Fulton: earlier theatrical, literary and political uses are documented, and he had used it in the House of Commons on 16 August 1945.

The speech's principal proposal was not the metaphor but a 'fraternal association' between the United States and the British Commonwealth — continued military-adviser cooperation, common technical training and joint use of naval and air bases.

The replies

The ceremony was carried by ABC radio. On 8 March Truman publicly disassociated himself from Churchill's remarks; his attendance had given the event visibility, not the status of U.S. policy.

Pravda published a hostile editorial with large portions of the speech on 11 March.

Stalin answered in a Pravda interview published on 14 March, describing the speech as dangerous and comparing Churchill's appeal to Hitler's racial doctrine.

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 8 sources not yet audited

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