Fulton Speech

The Sinews of Peace
Churchill delivers the speech at Westminster College.
DateMarch 5, 1946
Duration46 minutes
VenueWestminster College Gymnasium
LocationFulton, Missouri
Also known asFulton speech, Iron Curtain speech
TypeSpeech (lecture)
ThemeAnti-Communism, international relations

Churchill's "Fulton Speech" (also known as the "Iron Curtain" speech or by its title "The Sinews of Peace") was a 46-minute lecture delivered by Winston Churchill on March 5, 1946, at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, United States to an audience of 1,500 listeners. It has been considered by some as signalling the beginning of the Cold War. Contrary to popular misconceptions, Churchill was not the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time; after the defeat of the Conservative Party in the July 5, 1945 election, he was the Leader of the Opposition and was in the U.S. not on an official visit but as a private citizen on vacation.