Winston S. Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Friendship
When the British settlers landed on the shores of North America, a palpable tension filled the world. At the time, it was unrecognized. Once again, Britain had founded a colony in a “new land.” For a while, things went well. People brought new ideas, new foods, and new exportable goods into the colonies and shipped them back to their homeland. Trade boomed. As more and more people were born in North America, though, a feeling of unrest developed. The people who claimed British heritage but had never seen the Isles and the people who remained in Britain grew further and further apart as time progressed; their methods of exchange altered, and the people themselves developed new ideals that did not quite match their relatives across the Atlantic Ocean. As time progressed, the two peoples became completely separate entities. Indeed, they referred to the war between their peoples by two different names: the British referred to it as the War for American Independence, while the people who transformed into Americans called the same period the Revolutionary War. Each of these names represents how the nations interacted with the war—one gained independence and one lost a large chunk of citizens.
This historical background sets up an interesting dynamic between the two nations. For a while, the two nations acted as children, peering at one another to make sure nothing would happen next to upset their precarious balance, although Britain remained one of the United States’ largest trading partners. Over time, they grew less wary and formed a rocky friendship, somewhat out of necessity. Of course, the leaders of both countries had to work with one another. They continued to find great economic benefits in trade and commerce. Technology was on the brink of exploding, and both countries were eager to host the newest trends. Therefore, they began working together in various ways.
Perhaps the most representative of the alliance between Great Britain and the United States of America is the dynamic duo that led their respective nations during World War II: Franklin Delano Roosevelt (30 January 1882 – 12 April 1945) and Winston S. Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965). In fact, their political relationship is one of the most famous and well-celebrated alliances in history. Franklin D. Roosevelt, or FDR, served as president of the United States for three full terms and part of a fourth from March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945. Serving in much the same capacity, Winston S. Churchill was the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. As evidenced by their dates in office, both leaders were strapped in government right in the middle of the World War II crisis.
Through no small effort, Roosevelt and Churchill, leaders of the “Greatest Generation,” pulled their two countries together to defeat the powers rising against them. Along with Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, they formed the Big Three, or the Grand Alliance, of World War II. Often called the Strange Alliance, this group of three men united their nations, which consisted of the world’s greatest capitalist state, the world’s greatest colonial power, and the world’s greatest communist state. For all the sense it made, the group never should have formed. They believed in none of the same principles but were united toward one common cause: defeating the Axis Powers.
At this time, Germany, Italy, and Imperial Japan threatened not only Britain but also the entirety of Europe and much of Asia. Churchill spent much of his time trying to convince the United States to join the war. He sent numerous missives to Roosevelt, telling him that the time had come to take up arms and that waiting would surely bring only terrible outcomes. Wary, FDR began gathering supplies, but he did not commit to war. The United States had a commitment to neutrality, although they continued trading with the United Kingdom. Therefore, they remained out of the war until the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. At that point, there was no return. Churchill is cited as saying that he was thankful for the attack, as that blast was what finally pushed Roosevelt to join him in a united front against invading powers. Churchill said America was “up to the neck and in to the death.”
While working together, the Big Three faced many hardships within their relationships with one another. Obviously, Roosevelt and Stalin each opposed the other’s ideological beliefs. Their nations ran under extremely different rules and beliefs. Of course, the Soviets still remembered the United States’ participation in the Russian Civil War and held a hefty bit of bitterness. Additionally, the United States for a long while refused to acknowledge the Soviet Union as a legitimate state, which only fueled their distaste. Therefore, Churchill often played the middle man. He was the one who encouraged the United States to provide aid for the Soviet Union. Without him, there likely would have been no alliance between Roosevelt and Stalin.
In fact, Roosevelt and Churchill worked together so often that they formed a close friendship that led to excellent working relations between them. Of course, they had their normal skirmishes, but they were fast friends for the most part, which was crucial to their efforts to diminish the Axis Powers. After a meeting, Roosevelt told Churchill, “It is fun to be in the same decade as you.” This friendship was cemented on December 24, 1941 when Churchill visited the White House. Standing beside Churchill, Roosevelt said, “And so I am asking my associate, [and] my old and good friend, to say a word to the people of America, old and young tonight—Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain.”
From the words of Churchill, the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States was a “special relationship” that was rather unique in light of the world’s international politics. Once enemies, the two nations were bound to work together to defeat a new common enemy. From two countries that functioned in very different manners, the two men did not have a great amount in common when it came to politics. Roosevelt was the president of a democracy that voted for each leader in political office, while Churchill was the prime minister for a country led by a constitutional monarchy. Roosevelt was the decision maker in the highest position. Churchill served the monarch, although he was in the highest voted position. Altogether, the two leaders spent around 113 days together during the war and exchanged almost two thousand messages.
Although they were worlds apart politically, the two men were closer in rank in regard to other roles they played in their lives. They both arose from elite families and chose to study history during their academic careers, and both desired power to a fault. During their childhoods, both men were dismissed as lesser than other students. They both began gaining more feats as they grew into adulthood, climbing political ranks and meeting important people. Perhaps the saddest comparison is that both men tended to abandon their families to pursue their goals in politics. Both had wives and children but chose to spend much of their time in the company of others. Some historians claim Churchill and Roosevelt knew each other better than they knew their own families.
The two men went beyond a political partnership—they were friendly in the way one is with a close neighbor they have known for forty years. Roosevelt and Churchill sent each other gifts and holiday cards and told each other when major events happened with their families and personal lives. They got along relatively well as they laughed, smoked, talked, and drank together. While in the same space, they stayed up long nights, scheming and discussing plans for the future. Of Winston Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “I was solicitous for his comfort, but I was always glad when he departed, for I knew that my husband would need a rest, since he had carried his usual hours of work in addition to the unusual ones Mr. Churchill preferred.” Both men were filled with determination and a sheer power of will.
Although they were from very different places, Churchill and Roosevelt held some of the same key views on how to go about creating a peace in the world. They decided to agree on the following points: their personal relationship was crucial to winning World War II, the Soviet Union would play a role in the postwar world, a bombing campaign was essential, Germany and Japan would fall, their loyalties were to their own nations and their interests, and the long-term value of the United Nations was doubtful. On the other hand, they held some major points of disagreement, as well. The two men argued over the following points: the fate of Russia, whether Britain should commit to sending its fleet to the Western Hemisphere if Germany successfully invaded the British Isles, invading France to defeat Germany, colonialism, and what to do with Russia after the war.
The relationship between Churchill and Roosevelt and their ability to get along and understand each other was paramount to preserving the security of their own nations and that of the world. Although they had some scruples with one another’s methods of leadership and personal values, they developed a relationship of necessity and candor that budded from their growing mutual admiration.
The clash of their personalities must have been exceedingly entertaining. Churchill was a robust man, always willing to share his opinion aloud. Some of his closest friends and advisors said he was blunt and emotionally involved with everything around him. On the other hand, Roosevelt was more conservative with his feelings. He was charming and cordial even when people around him were harsh and critical. Regardless of their differing personalities, both men were natural leaders and could easily silence a room in seconds. Both men attracted followers, people who were willing to do almost anything they asked.
During the time that Churchill and Roosevelt spent together, so much was at stake. They developed their friendship in the middle of a war as two men who were fighting for a common cause. They came together as an act of diplomacy, as a way to keep the world from falling apart at the seams. While each maintained a focus of the good of the world as a whole, they were sure to remind each other that their own country’s interests were at stake, as well. For a while, Churchill was the leader of the fight against Germany, but Roosevelt rose to that position soon after the United States joined the war. They had to continuously shift the balance of power from one man’s hands to the next to keep things in check. In all, they were joined by the needs of their nation and their people, but over that necessary time together, they formed an impenetrable bond.
Unfortunately, Roosevelt did not live to see the culmination of their friendship—the end of World War II. He died from health issues not an entire month before the war officially ended. Upon Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s death, Winston S. Churchill contacted his dear friend’s wife to say, “I have lost a dear and cherished friendship which was forged in the fire of war. I trust you may find consolation in the magnitude of his work and the glory of his name.” Churchill later wrote about Roosevelt: “I felt I was in contact with a very great man who was also a warm-hearted friend and the foremost champion of the high causes which we served,” and that meeting him had been “like uncorking your first bottle of champagne.” The two men had an unbreakable friendship, one that was held together by days upon days spent in small, locked rooms as they read important documents together, strategized, and hoped for a better future.
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