The famous phrase Blood, toil, tears, and sweat was originally used by Theodore Roosevelt in an address to the Naval War College on June 2, 1897, following his appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Theodore Roosevelt (ˈroʊzəvɛlt October 27 1858 January 6 1919 also known as T [1]
However, the phrase became well known after a speech given by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 13 May 1940. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Churchill, a keen soldier, was likely to have read works by Theodore Roosevelt, who was a widely published military historian as it is possible he read Roosevelt's Blood, toil, tears, and sweat speech after being appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, a similar position to which Roosevelt held when the speech was delivered. Theodore Roosevelt (ˈroʊzəvɛlt October 27 1858 January 6 1919 also known as T The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised command over the Royal Navy. It was Churchill's first speech to the House after taking over as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the first year of World War II, having replaced Neville Chamberlain on 10 May. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 &ndash 9 November 1940 was a British Conservative Politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England.
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Background
It was the first of three speeches which he gave during the period of the Battle of France. In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries This speech (and the two others, the "We shall fight on the beaches" speech of 4 June and the "This was their finest hour" speech of 18 June) were a great inspiration to the embattled United Kingdom as it entered what was probably the most dangerous period of the entire war. We shall fight on the beaches is a common title given to a speech delivered by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the British Parliament Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. The This was their finest hour speech was delivered by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 18 Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
Excerpts
- We are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history. That we are in action at many points — in Norway and in Holland —, that we have to be prepared in the Mediterranean. That the air battle is continuous, and that many preparations have to be made here at home.
- …
- I would say to the House as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.
- You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs — Victory in spite of all terror — Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.
(Text transcription as originally read by Churchill)
See also
External links
- The Churchill Centre: Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat, with a short introduction
- Transcription and MP3 recording
Further reading
- John Lukacs, Five Days in London: May 1940 (Yale University, New Haven, 2001) is a good look at the political situation in the British government when Churchill made this speech
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