The post-war March of 1946 turned out to be difficult for the world's leading countries. The Second World War demolished the powers that had huge influence in the world, and the states that had not played a significant role before that came to the fore.
It has long been known that in order to gain authority and in order to influence world politics, it is necessary to participate in it. No wonder the United States declared itself as a world leader only thanks to this war, although they entered it only after the defeat of the German troops near Stalingrad. The Americans waited for the turning point in the war, negotiating with both the USSR and Germany at the same time. But now we are talking about England and, in particular, about the role played by Churchill's Fulton speech in world history.
Who was the Fulton speech intended for?
Post-war England lost its former influence in the world and no longer played a key role in the international arena. But the US and the USSR continued to fight for world dominance. And so, on March 5, 1946, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered, as he later put it, "the main speech of his life", which since thenis called the Fulton speech. It emphasized the need to unite the English-speaking states for the sake of peace in the world. The prime minister supported and recognized democratic states, and countries with other regimes of government, in his opinion, demanded urgent reformation. According to him, the English-speaking nations must unite for the common good.
Fulton's speech is addressed to the people of the world, it is easy to understand, which is undoubtedly a well-thought-out political move. The use of the words "family", "security of the people", "peaceful states", "family hearths", "ordinary people" also carries a certain meaning. If you read between the lines and know the position of England in the world, then you can understand that, first of all, the Fulton speech was intended for the British themselves and urged them to support an alliance with the United States. England was significantly weakened after the war, and in order to return to the world stage, she needed a strong ally.
USA is the most suitable option: an advanced state of the world, armed with military innovations, with a powerful economy that hardly suffered during the war. Another important detail: the official language of the United States is also English. Taking advantage of this coincidence, Churchill skillfully connected this fact with the need to unite specifically with the United States. Two equal powers on the world stage could not coexist peacefully, anyway, someone had to be the first. A prime example is the arms race.
Cold War
It was the Fulton speech, delivered on March 5, 1946, that marked the beginning of the Cold War, which lasted more than 40 years and almost escalated into the Third World War. The arms race and the struggle for supremacy inflamed the situation. US President Ronald Reagan would later refer to this speech as a historic one, as it was the beginning of world peace. But I. V. Stalin declared that this speech directly calls on other peoples to war against the USSR. He put Churchill on a par with Hitler and questioned his peaceful intentions.
And today every nation interprets this speech in its own way. The history of the West blesses her as calling for peaceful coexistence, but domestic history claims that it was the Fulton speech that initiated the Cold War and presented the USSR as a world aggressor.
