Analysis of a Political Speech

This essay analyzes a political speech delivered by Winston Churchill during World War II, discussing the background, audience, message, and impact of the speech.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF A POLITICAL SPEECH
Analysis of a Political Speech
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ANALYSIS OF A POLITICAL SPEECH
Executive Summary
Sir Winston Churchill was one of the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom. He was
a British politician, army officer and a writer who was known to led the Great Britain to
victory against the Germans during the time of World Wat II. He is considered to be one of
the most dominant figures of the 20th century and is very popular among the countries of
Europe where he was known as a victorious wartime leader of the British army. The essay
will look at the political speeches he made during the time of the Second World War.

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Table of Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
Background of the Speech.......................................................................................................3
To whom is the Speech Delivered?.........................................................................................4
How Clever was the Politician in Delivering the Speech?....................................................4
What is the Message?...............................................................................................................5
What Happened as a Result of the Speech?...........................................................................5
Thoughts about the Speech.....................................................................................................6
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................6
Reference List...........................................................................................................................7

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“We shall fight on the seas and oceans… we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may
be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the
fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
- Winston Churchill
June 4th, 1940
Introduction
During the time of the Second World War, On June 4th, 1940, British Minister
Winston Churchill delivered a speech to the House of Commons in which he described to the
House of Commons about a possible invasion of the Germans in Britain and also had to
prepare for France’s surrender at the hands of Germany. He also wanted to formulate a policy
that would remain unchained and that would lead the Brits on the way to victory in World
War II in spite of the difficulty of the situation.
Background of the Speech
After Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of England in the year 1940, he
observed the invasion of the Germans inn the countries of Western Europe as well as
capturing the countries of France, Belgium as well as Luxembourg. I was when the German
forces started fighting the Allied forces then Churchill felt the need of having as strong
military force as a strategy against the invading German army. As stated by Baugh (2014),
since the French had provided only a thin line of defence against the Germans in the capture
Aisne and that of the Somme, Churchill evaluated that the British military force would not be
able to withstand against a strong attack by the German army. This made Churchill think of
having a strong line of defence against the German army. He also had to describe about a
great military disaster and the possibility of the Germans invading Britain. Hence, he said the
above speech to make sure that the armed forces of Britain are strong enough to defend the

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country if the enemy attacks and lead the country to their victory no matter how difficult the
road is.
The historical and the social perspectives of the reasons for the war includes the
outbreak of the Second World War and the invasion of the German Wehrmacht to countries
like Belgium, Luxembourg as well as France. All these invasions of the Germans and the
dissatisfaction of the Britishers under previous Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had led
to Winston Churchill to formulate such strong army practices for Britain during World War
II.
To whom is the Speech Delivered?
Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Britain, Sir Winston Churchill delivered
ther speech to the House of Commons in June 4th 1940. The reason for the delivery of this
speech is because of the fact that Britain was too weak to deal with the threat from Nazi
Germany since it had already defeated and captured countries like France, Belgium and
Luxembourg. Therefore Churchill feared that since these and the Lower countries had already
been captured by the Germans, there was little time before the Germans started the invasion
of Britain. To ensure that Britain could defend itself against the threats of Germany in the
World War II, Churchill made these statements to build a strong Britain army to defend the
country against the Germans (Churchill, 2013).
How Clever was the Politician in Delivering the Speech?
Winston Churchill was quite clever in delivering the speech to the House of
Commons, It was because of the speech that he delivered at The House of Commons on that
day in June 1940 that the British army was able to strengthen their resources and able to fight
in the World War II and finally was able to defeat Germany tin the World War II.

5ANALYSIS OF A POLITICAL SPEECH
Churchill was clever enough to notice the dissatisfaction that people had under the
previous Prime Minister of Britain Neville Chamberlain as well as the weak condition of the
British army in the wars. As the German army was already able to defeat France and capture
Aisne and the Somme from them. Churchill felt that the British army is too weak to deal with
an attack on the, by the Germans themselves. This made him want to change the policies and
make the army stronger so that they would be able to fight in the World War II and defeat the
Germans in the World War (Crespo-Fernandez, 2013).
Therefore, it can be said that Churchill was clever when he made such a speech as it
had ultimately helped the British defeat the Germans in the World War II.
What is the Message?
The message that was presented by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons
is that they must not give up against the invading German army innthe World War II. Since
France had already fallen to the Nazis, Britain must take measures to protect the country in
any way possible so that they could stop the Germans from invading their country. Winston
Churchill, in his message also states the fact that the Britishers will not give up against the
Germans (Troitino, 2013). They will fight anywhere and everywhere to ensure that the
Germans were unable to invade their country. Churchill also mentioned in his speech that the
aim of the countrymen of Great Britain is to keep fighting against the Germans and to gain
victory from the Germans by any means necessary to them.
What Happened as a Result of the Speech?
As stated by Adamwaithe (2013), after the speech by Winston Churchill, Britain made
their military strategy much stronger than before and began to retaliate against the Germans.
The Britain joined forces with France as well as Russia to form the Allied powers that was
later joined by the U.S. The Allied Forces were finally able to defeat Germany which

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brought the Second World War to an end. Mostly, the speech by Churchill helped to motivate
the British army which helped them to defeat the Germans in the Second World War.
Thoughts about the Speech
The speech that Winston Churchill had made on June 1940 is really motivating as
well as inspiring not only to the British people but also to any country fighting any kind of
war. This is because the speech tells everyone not to give up no matter how difficult the
situation is. If people can continue fighting in spite of the difficulties that they face in case of
the war, the never give up attitude can help them to march their way to victory (Jabonsky,
2013). This was true in the case of the Second World War as it not only helped the British but
also the Allied powers in defeating Nazi Germany and bring the war to an end. Therefore, the
speech given by Churchill is a good speech.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the speech made by Winston
Churchill at the House of Commons on June 1940 is indeed an important as well as a
motivating one. This helped the British to defeat the Germans in the Second World War.
Therefore, the message presented by Churchill proves that he is indeed one of the most
popular figures in the history of the world.

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Reference List
Adamthwaite, A. P. (2013). The making of the second world war. Routledge.
Baugh, D., & Baugh, D. A. (2014). The Global Seven Years War 1754-1763: Britain and
France in a Great Power Contest. Routledge.
Churchill, W. S. (2013). Never Give In!: Winston Churchill's Speeches. A&C Black.
Crespo-Fernández, E. (2013). Words as weapons for mass persuasion: dysphemism in
Churchill's wartime speeches. Text & Talk, 33(3), 311-330.
Jablonsky, D. (2013). Churchill, the great game and total war. Routledge.
Toye, R. (2013). The roar of the lion: the untold story of Churchill's World War II speeches.
Oxford University Press.
Troitiño, D. R., & Chochia, A. (2015). Winston Churchill and the European Union. Baltic
Journal of Law & Politics, 8(1), 55-81.