On 13 May 1940 Winston Churchill made his famous blood, toil, tears, and sweat speech to the House of Commons of the British Parliament, three days after replacing Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister in the first year of World War II. Churchill gave the brief speech after calling for a vote of confidence, and with it he explained his government's policies and aims, and started to rally his countrymen to what he knew would be a long and difficult struggle. May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... In some bicameral parliaments of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... Alternative meanings: Parliamentary system, Parliament (band), Parliament (cigarette). ... Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 - 9 November 1940) was a British politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 - 1940. ... In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... A Motion of Confidence is a motion of support proposed by a government in a parliament to give members of parliament a chance to register their confidence for a government by means of a parliamentary vote. ...

Earlier in the day Churchill stated to his Cabinet, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat." and he repeated the phrase to Parliament in this excerpt: In British politics, the Cabinet is comprised of the most senior government ministers, most of them heads of government departments with the title Secretary of State. In the British system of government, the Cabinet is the key formal decision making body of the executive. ...

I say to the House as I said to ministers 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 months of struggle and suffering.

You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.

You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs - Victory in spite of all terrors - Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.

This speech and others by Churchill including the "we shall fight on the beaches" speech of 4 June were a great inspiration to the embattled United Kingdom. On 4 June 1940 Winston Churchill made his famous We shall fight on the beaches speech to the House of Commons of the British Parliament, shortly after taking over as Prime Minister in the first year of World War II. It was given in the wake of the withdrawal of... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent...

The phrase "blood, sweat, and tears" arose as a common misquotation from this speech. A misquotation is an accidental or intentional misrepresentation of a persons speech or writing, involving one or more of: Omission of important context: The context can be important for determining the overall argument the quoted person wanted to make, for seeing whether the quoted statement was restricted or even...

External link

• The Churchill Centre: Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat (http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=391), with a short introduction