The Other Winston Churchill

"In 1900, even after the British Churchill had been taken prisoner by the Boers and dramatically escaped, there was no question in this country as to which Churchill was *the* Winston Churchill.”--New York Times obituary, 1947

For many years in the US, if you said the words "Winston Churchill" the name that would immediately come to most people's minds would not be a British politician but a New Hampshire novelist. Winston Churchill (1871-1947) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill_(novelist) was in fact "the most popular Progessive novelist" (to quote Richard Hofstadter in *The Age of Reform*)--though his historical romances were even bigger sellers than his modern "problem novels." (See http://wwwfac.mcdaniel.edu/history/awc.html for more about Churchill.)

Churchill was elected to the New Hampshire legislature as a Republican in 1902. In 1906 he made a serious bid for the Republican nomination for governor of New Hampshire. (This got some notice not only in the US but also in the UK. The London *Sketch* had an article WATCH THE WINSTONS suggesting that one day one might become Prime Minister of Great Britain and the other President of the United States. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F03E0DB1231E733A2575AC0A96E9C946797D6CF&legacy=true) This article in the *New Outlook* indicates that he in fact came very close to winning the nomination:


***

"Mr. Churchill's Virtual Victory"

"The nomination of Mr.Charles M. Floyd as Republican candidate for the Governorship of New Hampshire was brought about by the not unexpected coalition against Mr. Winston Churchill of all the forces in support of the other candidates. When Mr. Churchill entered the field, early in July, three men had been canvassing for the nomination for about a year. While continuing to contend against one another, these three candidates for the nomination regarded Mr. Churchill's canvass as intrusive, and therefore they formed a common bond of hostility toward him. Mr. Churchill's platform, moreover, aroused the antagonism of the railroad machine which has dominated the politics of the State. It was inevitable that, if Mr. Churchill's candidacy should become formidable, the other candidates and the railroad machine would at the critical moment combine. Mr. Churchill's nomination therefore depended upon his ability to overcome such a combination. Even as late as August it was not believed by the forces hostile to Mr. Churchill that his candidacy would become formidable; it was even predicted at that time by the most astute of the machine managers that Mr. Churchill would not receive over twenty votes in the Convention. As a matter of fact, however, on the eighth ballot in the Convention he had just one less than fifteen times that number of votes, and was the leading candidate. He had entered the Convention with 157 votes and had gained steadily throughout the balloting. At this juncture the hostile forces combined on Mr. Floyd, and by the narrow margin of eight votes secured for him the nomination. Mr. Churchill, however, has not been defeated, for he was not fighting a personal battle, but was contending for a set of principles. His personal triumph was remarkable, for he had a lead over all the other candidates singly; but still more remarkable and significant was the fact that he committed all of his adversaries and the Republican party of the State to the principles for which he had contended.." https://books.google.com/books?pg=PA243&lpg=PA243&sig=DSNfEwMyV-GG186P6xDBnKtT_OM&id=brlZAAAAYAAJ

***

It is of course possible that even if nominated, Churchill would have been "knifed" in November by conservative, pro-railroad Republicans; but OTOH he could get the support of some progressive Democrats. So suppose he is not only nominated but elected in 1906. Could this have led to the presidency? According to http://wwwfac.mcdaniel.edu/history/awc.html "relationships with Roosevelt and Taft will spread his influence in Republican circles beyond New Hampshire in the coming years." And of course this will be still more true if he is elected governor. Maybe if TR and Taft insist he be Taft's running mate in 1908, the GOP convention will go along, even if they would prefer someone more conservative. Then of course all it takes is our standard Crazy Anarchist Assassin to make the American Winston Churchill POTUS. Or let's say that TR and Taft realize that their rivalry in 1912 is ruinous, and settle on Churchill as a compromise candidate acceptable to both of them?

(The other possible path to the presidency would be Churchill winning the New Hampshire goverorship in 1912 as Progressive party candidate. However, while he did respectably in that race, he did not come close to winning. The Democrat Samuel Felker won with 41.07 percent of the vote, the Republican Franklin Worcester came in second with 39.03 percent, and Churchill came in third with 17.29 percent. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=266679 And even if he had somehow won, the Progressive Party would not last long, and it would be hard for Churchill to make his way back to the Republican Party with any success. Anyway, after his loss in 1912, Churchill gave up on electoral politics.)
 
Last edited:
BTW, here is how the British Winston Churchill proposed to eliminate the confusion (in a letter to the American Winston Churchill):

"London, June 7, 1899.

Mr. Winston Churchill presents his compliments to Mr. Winston Churchill, and begs to draw his attention to a matter which concerns them both. He has learnt from the Press notices that Mr. Winston Churchill proposes to bring out another novel, entitled Richard Carvel, which is certain to have a considerable sale both in England and America. Mr. Winston Churchill is also the author of a novel now being published in serial form in Macmillan's Magazine, and for which he anticipates some sale both in England and America. He also proposes to publish on the 1st of October another military chronicle on the Soudan War. He has no doubt that Mr. Winston Churchill will recognise from this letter -- if indeed by no other means -- that there is grave danger of his works being mistaken for those of Mr. Winston Churchill. He feels sure that Mr. Wiston Churchill desires this as little as he does himself. In future to avoid mistakes as far as possible, Mr. Winston Churchill has decided to sign all published articles, stories, or other works, 'Winston Spencer Churchill,' and not 'Winston Churchill' as formerly. He trusts that this arrangement will commend itself to Mr. Winston Churchill, and he ventures to suggest, with a view to preventing further confusion which may arise out of this extraordinary coincidence, that both Mr. Winston Churchill and Mr. Winston Churchill should insert a short note in their respective publications explaining to the public which are the works of Mr. Winston Churchill and which those of Mr. Winston Churchill. The text of this note might form a subject for future discussion if Mr. Winston Churchill agrees with Mr. Winston Churchill's proposition. He takes this occasion of complimenting Mr. Winston Churchill upon the style and success of his works, which are always brought to his notice whether in magazine or book form, and he trusts that Mr. Winston Churchill has derived equal pleasure from any work of his that may have attracted his attention." https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/churchill-letter-to-churchill-.html

The two Winston Churchills actually met in Boston in 1900. Naturally, the introduction was "Mr. Churchill--Mr. Churchill." https://books.google.com/books?id=4aZCUZMvj7cC&pg=PA39
 
Top