Comparing The Speeches Of Winston Churchill, JFK, And Ronald Reagan

Winston Churchill, JFK, and Ronald Reagan each gave powerful speeches regarding the Cold War. While each speech may have been intended to its own unique purpose, they each share several themes and characteristics. Even though the span between these speeches was over forty years, they were all relevant to each other during the Cold War. Primarily, the speeches focused on the Soviet Union. From Churchill referring to the borders on the East as an “iron curtain,” to Reagan demanding the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall, the Soviet Union was targeted in those speeches. JFK’s speech didn’t revolve around the Soviet Union quite as much as Churchill’s or Reagan’s. By calling the borders to the East an “iron curtain,” and stating that the Soviet Union had some eastern countries not only under its influence, but under its control, Churchill very explicitly makes a target of the Soviet Union. He makes the Soviet Union out to be the world’s newest enemy. Similarly, when Reagan puts the Soviet Union on the spot by demanding them to tear down the Berlin Wall in his speech, he also makes the Soviet Union a target. He makes them out to be a threat to the sense of humanity itself in his speech, and leaves them no choice but to tear down the wall. Both JFK and Reagan gave their speeches in Berlin, which is particularly

Churchill wanted the free world to hear him, JFK wanted Berlin, the Soviet Union, and the rest of the world to hear him, and Reagan wanted the Soviet Union to hear his demands, and the rest of the world to hear about what the Soviet Union had done in Berlin. Each speech also intended to make the information against the Soviet Union public in order to win the support of the world as a whole. All three of the speeches came from credible speakers: a prime minister and two presidents. They also are all contextually in the Cold War, albeit over the span of over forty