When you hear about Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri - you may also hear about Sir Winston Churchill, and for good reason. On March 5, 1946, Sir Winston Churchill visited Westminster College as the Green Lecturer and delivered "Sinews of Peace," a message heard round the world that went down in history as the "Iron Curtain Speech."
"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an "iron curtain" has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow."
The story of how Winston Churchill (and Harry S. Truman) came to Westminster that day in 1946 is fascinating - more here from the National Churchill Museum.
Sir Winston Churchill painting by George W. Bush in America's National Churchill Museum on the campus of Westminster College
“This is a wonderful school in my home state. Hope you can do it. If you come, I will introduce you.”
Harry S. Truman A handwritten post-script by Truman to the letter of invitation to Churchill from Westminster College
