Brief Summary
The Set-Up
Winston Churchill becomes prime minister of Great Britain after Neville Chamberlain's resignation, which is related to Chamberlain's failure to stop Nazi aggression in Europe. Churchill addresses Parliament for the first time as prime minister.
The Text
Churchill's speech has two primary aims.
- He's discussing the new government that he formed in the past three days after becoming prime minister.
- He's giving a frank status update on the war with Germany.
The first half or so of the speech isn't about ramping up the political troops against fascism—it's about the transition between governments. Churchill explains the rapid change in leadership and why Parliament was meeting that day. Then he transitions to talking about the war, first through a political lens and then a more poetic one.
Churchill finishes off the speech with some rousing yet intimidating lines about the crisis facing Britain today, and how they'll be victorious…but only after lots and lots of fighting.
TL;DR
I've created a new, multiparty cabinet because we're facing a major war, and we're going to have to fight like crazy to win and protect everything we hold dear.
Let's roll.