The study of statesmanship is central to the teaching mission of Hillsdale College, which includes cultivating the moral and intellectual virtues. The classics teach that we can best understand the art of statesmanship by studying those who have a reputation for it. One sees prudence, the virtue of the statesman, most clearly through the words and actions of statesmen as they pursue justice in the midst of the obstacles and necessities of political life.
Winston Churchill’s career presents an unsurpassed opportunity for such study because it was so long, because the facts of it are so well recorded, and because its quality was so very high. His career spanned the most traumatic events in history-the largest wars, the greatest depression, the worst tyrannies, and the most rapid advancement of technology and therefore of human power. As he faced these crises, Churchill wrote with profuse detail and with great ability about his doings, thereby leaving one of the richest records of human undertaking.
Hillsdale College has launched the Churchill Project to propagate a right understanding of Churchill’s record. Through the Churchill Project, it will complete the remaining volumes of The Churchill Documents, a series in the official biography of Winston Churchill. It will archive the papers of Martin Gilbert, Churchill’s official biographer from 1968 to 2012. And it will promote Churchill scholarship through national conferences, scholarships, online courses, and an endowed faculty chair. Through these endeavors, Hillsdale College will establish itself at the forefront of Churchill research, scholarship, and analysis.