Using these three sources in their historical context, assess how far they support the view that Churchill was out of touch with mainstream politics in 1929-40?

Source B is a conservation between Churchill and Edward Montagu in 1921, which is written in Churchill’s perspective. This is vital because it means that the source is useful in telling us his own views on India. The source indicates that Churchill had detested Gandhi and the Indian Nationalist Movement. Churchill describes Indians as “low class of coolies.” The use of the words “low” and “coolies” would mean that Churchill had viewed Indians in being uneducated labour workers. We associate the word “low” with something being inferior or insignificant and the word “coolies” as a labour worker. Furthermore in the conservation, Churchill says; “the idea that they should be put on an equality with the Europeans is revolting to every white man.” This can be referred to Churchill’s beliefs on the white man burden. The white man burden was a theory that people who aren’t white were not civilised and not able to govern themselves. It was up to the white man to govern them. It seems in the source that Churchill was responding to Gandhi and the Indian Nationalist Movement, who were at the time asking for Dominion status for India. Dominion status was countries that were autonomous Communities within the British Empire. Dominion status was only granted at the time to white counties; New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa. Amritsar was the spark that lead to India desiring dominion status, which made Churchill more nervous about the growing Indian Nationalist Movement and leader Gandhi. During the 1920s and 1930s British attitudes towards India began to shift because the remarkable protest done by Gandhi and the fact that India had stopped being important to Britain's economy. There was also the fact that Britain gave self-government to the Irish Free State in 1921 and this made it even harder to deny self-government to India. This shows that Churchill’s views of India had caused him to be an outsider in the mainstream politics because he was viewed as an old fashioned politician due to him not accepting the changes in India. However, the source doesn’t mention Churchill viewing India as a crown jewel of Britain. This would result on the useful of the source decreasing because it focuses on the negative comments made about Churchill’s views on India. Negative comments would be the racist views Churchill has on India, which has been influenced in his military service in India and the white man’s burden. The source agrees that Churchill was an outcast from mainstream politics because British views of India was changing and so many so Churchill as old fashioned.

Source C is another speech, but this time it is Churchill delivering the speech to the House of Commons on the day of the abdication of Edward VIII. This would make the source useful because it giving us Churchill’s perspective in the situation regarding Edward VIII. Churchill says “stand beside his present Majesty,” which is an indication Churchill had supported the King with passion. This could be the cause of him becoming so unpopular that he suffered. Churchill faced humiliation in the House of Commons, which shortened his hopes of a return to power and his influence was shattered. His support for the plainly weak and self-obsessed Edward VIII, though admirably motivated by loyalty, appalled so many of his contemporaries that it very almost ended his political career. However, if it wasn’t for war, he would never have held office again. This links to what I mentioned in source A about Churchill opinion of rearmament portraying him as a hero. We can also link Churchill support of Edward VIII, to him being a white supremacist. In 1936, Churchill was an enthusiastic supporter of eugenics. This meant that he strongly believed in the white man burden. He saw that Edward VIII should be kept on the “throne of his fathers.” This shows that Churchill had old fashion views because he believed in primogeniture, which is the right, by law or tradition, of the firstborn male child to inherit the family estate, in partiality to younger sons, daughters and siblings. Churchill’s old beliefs on the abdication of Edward VIII had made him clash with the government because they didn’t support Edward VIII and saw Churchill support for the young king as preposterous. Churchill’s views clashing with the government shows that he is out of touch with mainstream politics.

Overall, the crucial motivational role in saving the country from Nazism inevitably vapours everything else about him. He had an unsuccessful flair of finding himself on the wrong side of too many arguments, over things that habitually did not require the benefit of hindsight to be understood. In the 1930s his dismissal of the idea of Indian liberation seemed backward-looking and inhumane even to many of his contemporaries, and his support for the weak and self-obsessed Edward VIII, had appalled politicians. Many people felt that Churchill was simply on another of his bizarre hobbyhorses, and that his latest cranky obsession would end in the usual personal humiliation for him when he spoke about the German threat before the outbreak of the Second World War. This meant that Churchill had not been an outsider in the House of Commons. Baldwin was a mainstream politician, so had an important role in parliament. I think it was the politicians that were in supported the concept of appeasement were the true outsiders in mainstream politics because they failed to view Hitler as a threat. It wasn’t until 1936 that everyone noticed the German as a threat to European peace. This is because in 1936, Germany had remilitarise the Rhineland and had taken back their industrial area from France. I would see this as the turning point for British people because they finally listened to the warnings of Churchill about Germany.