Winston S. Churchill Early Speeches

In 1903, Winston Churchill was at the cusp of a brilliant political career-a newly elected Parliament member with a brash, aggressive style of oration and passionate political convictions. During this time, John Brodrick, the Secretary of State for War, proposed an expansion of Britain's peacetime military-a plan which Churchill strongly opposed. Churchill attacked Brodrick's plan in six fiery speeches on the subject-speeches that generated strong support and left Brodrick politically isolated. Mr. Brodrick's Army is a compilation of all six of these speeches. With fewer than 20 first editions currently in existence, it is the rarest of Churchill's works-remarkable not only for its historical significance, but for its early display of the oratorical brilliance for which Churchill would become known.

For Free Trade was a political pamphlet originally published in 1906--and one of Winston Churchill's rarest works. Throughout his career--as both a Conservative and a Liberal--Winston Churchill was a strong supporter of free trade. As a Conservative, this position was sometimes controversial; early in his career, Churchill took a stand in opposing Joseph Chamberlain's proposed government tariffs designed to protect the economic dominance of Britain. This collection contains several speeches Churchill made on the subject of free trade, expressing his views with characteristic oratory brilliance.

In 1931, Britain's Conservative Party proposed the India Bill-a piece of proposed legislation that made significant changes to the way India governed itself under British rule. Winston Churchill, with a distinguished history of military service and war correspondence in India behind him, took a position on this bill independent of the party line-and fought for it with characteristic conviction and oratory brilliance. This book contains seven speeches and three important addresses on the subject, printed originally to generate popular support for Churchill's opinion. It should be noted that Churchill's opposition to Indian home rule is one of his more controversial political positions. Despite the strength of his oration, his attempt failed-and the India Bill was approved by Parliament in 1935. Documenting a rare loss for Churchill, these speeches provide an important insight into his mind and strategy as a political leader.

Winston Churchill is renowned as a brilliant Conservative politician and statesman-but he wasn't always a Conservative. In 1904, he crossed over to join the Liberal party-becoming Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies when the Liberals took office, and later joining the Liberal Cabinet. This collection of speeches documents Churchill's dramatic shift toward a more progressive governing philosophy. They contain his thoughts on some of the most important issues of the time, including the "People's Budget," a highly controversial new wealth distribution initiative. It led to the House of Lords' first attempt in two hundred years to challenge the power of the House of Commons, and ultimately to the Parliament Act of 1911, asserting the House of Commons' legislative powers. This compilation is fascinating not only for its historical context, but for the keen political insight and strategy of one of the twentieth century's greatest political leaders.