Always at the Table: Winston Churchill and the Leaders of the 20th Century
High School Curriculum
The high school curriculum focuses on Churchill as
one of history’s greatest leaders and of the others he regularly
interacted with in peace and in war. The political history of the
20th century can be written as the biographies of six men: Lenin,
Stalin, Hitler, Mao Zedong, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
The first four were totalitarians who made or used revolutions to
create monstrous dictatorships. Roosevelt and Churchill differed
from them in being democrats. And Churchill differed from Roosevelt
— while both were war leaders, Churchill was uniquely stirred by
the challenge of war and found his fulfillment in leading the
democracies to victory. (John Keegan, Time Magazine, April 13, 1998)
High School students will look at five such leaders: Attlee, de Gaulle, Stalin, Tito, and Truman. The quote from Keegan failed to mention that Churchill met or interacted with all the men selected as history’s greatest leaders, and with many not listed such as Truman or Eisenhower. Through each leader, students will understand how power was gained in the 20th century and Churchill responded to each. Some were his sworn enemies and some were his closest allies, but each governed or ruled a country. Prior to their arrival at the Memorial, students will research their assigned leader and determine the type of government each controlled, their leadership style and why the role they played in defining the 20th Century. At the Memorial, students will continue in the persona of the leaders, comparing their age and activities to Churchill’s and follow his life as it interacts with Churchill’s. The students will develop a response to Churchill’s famous Iron Curtain speech as they determine how their leader might have been or was impacted by the Cold War, as declared in the Iron Curtain Speech.
High School students will look at five such leaders: Attlee, de Gaulle, Stalin, Tito, and Truman. The quote from Keegan failed to mention that Churchill met or interacted with all the men selected as history’s greatest leaders, and with many not listed such as Truman or Eisenhower. Through each leader, students will understand how power was gained in the 20th century and Churchill responded to each. Some were his sworn enemies and some were his closest allies, but each governed or ruled a country. Prior to their arrival at the Memorial, students will research their assigned leader and determine the type of government each controlled, their leadership style and why the role they played in defining the 20th Century. At the Memorial, students will continue in the persona of the leaders, comparing their age and activities to Churchill’s and follow his life as it interacts with Churchill’s. The students will develop a response to Churchill’s famous Iron Curtain speech as they determine how their leader might have been or was impacted by the Cold War, as declared in the Iron Curtain Speech.
Leaders: