The moment the United States entered World War II, Winston Churchill decided to invite himself to Washington, D.C. Related Content Iva D'Aquino Toguri remains the only U.S. citizen convicted of treason, and he was pardoned on December 8, 1941

just before Franklin D. Roosevelt As the Prime Minister delivers a "day of infamy" speech to Parliament, he is determined to cross the Atlantic to cement Britain's most important alliance. “We can reexamine the entire war plan in the light of reality and new facts,” an enthusiastic Winston Churchill wrote to Roosevelt. After expressing concern for Churchill's safety in an ocean filled with U-boats, the Prime Minister gave Roosevelt a thumbs-up. "I'm glad you came to the White House," the president responded. "Two weeks after Pearl Harbor, Churchill arrived in Washington and stayed at the White House for three weeks. He celebrated Christmas 1941 with Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1975 The previous December, the president and prime minister had drank late at night, pissed off the first lady, taxed White House staff and cemented a partnership that won the world war. On the morning of December 22, the day Churchill arrived at the White House, the chief butler of the White House.

, Alonzo Fields walks into an argument between Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt “You should have told me! Eleanor said, based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Extraordinary Times." Roosevelt had just told her that Churchill would arrive in the United States that night and stay for "a few days."

Churchill's battleship had just docked in Norfolk, Virginia, after ten days of bumpy seas. Washington went to see Roosevelt. Four months earlier, they had met in Newfoundland and drafted the Atlantic ***, a joint statement of postwar goals that included self-government for all peoples. Both hoped this would convince the American people to join the war and become Britain's allies, but it was not until Pearl Harbor that public opinion changed in the United States.

The Prime Minister flew from Norfolk to Washington on a U.S. Navy aircraft and was greeted by the President at Washington National Airport. Churchill arrived at the White House wearing a double-breasted coat and navy hat, holding a cane with a flashlight in his hand in preparation for the blackout caused by the Blitz in London, and a cigar dangling from his mouth. On the first day, Churchill was joined by the British ambassador, Lord Halifax, the Minister of Supply, Lord Beaverbrook, and Churchill's physician, Charles Wilson. Upstairs, the First Lady, fulfilling her sudden hostess duties at her best, invited the Prime Minister and his aides to tea. That night, Roosevelt and Churchill exchanged stories and banter over a dinner for 20 people, and the small group retreated upstairs to the Blue Room to talk about the war.

Churchill turned the Rose Suite on the second floor into a mini headquarters for the British Communist Party. Messengers carried red-covered documents to and from the embassy. In the Monroe Conference Room, where the first lady held press conferences, he hung huge maps to track the progress of the war. They told a depressing story: Germany and Italy controlled Europe from the English Channel to the Black Sea, Hitler's armies surrounded Leningrad, and Japan swept through the Philippines and British Malaya, forcing the surrender of Hong Kong on Christmas Day. This made the Roosevelt-Churchill summit doubly important: the Allies needed an immediate morale boost and long-term plans to reverse the tide of fascism.

The 67-year-old prime minister has proven to be an eccentric tenant. "I must have a glass of sherry in the room before breakfast," Churchill told Fields, the butler, "a few Scotches and sodas before lunch, French champagne, and a glass of 90-year-old brandy before going to bed in the evening." Breakfast , he asked for fruit, orange juice, a pot of tea, "hot" and "cold," which the White House kitchen translated as eggs, toast, bacon or ham, and two cold cuts of bacon, and Roosevelt asked him Open the door. He did so, revealing Churchill standing naked on a towel. "Don't mind me," Roosevelt quipped, "Churchill returned to Washington on January 10 after a five-day vacation in Florida to wrap up the summit. His three-week visit was fruitful for the war effort. Churchill and Roosevelt would discuss matters that would ultimately have consequences for the Allies." A strategy of influence was agreed upon. Churchill was relieved to understand that despite the Americans' revenge against Japan, Roosevelt still intended to defeat Germany first, as the two leaders had agreed in Newfoundland later in 1942. It was time to invade North Africa, a move that proved an effective prelude to the Allied landings in Italy and France. At Roosevelt's insistence, Churchill agreed to establish a command center in Washington to coordinate the war effort. The agreement deeply disturbed British military leaders, but Churchill avoided outside criticism by sending a telegram to Acting Prime Minister Attlee in his absence, saying it was a deal that had been reached.

Churchill flew to England on January 14, 1942, returning home via Bermuda. "His visit to the United States marked a turning point in the war," a London Times editorial enthused after his return. Praise cannot be given too much for foresight and quickness of decision-making.

All those late nights took a toll on Roosevelt and his exhausted staff. Hopkins turned pale and was admitted to the Naval Hospital to recover. But the bond between president and prime minister—the trust that won the war — was established. Roosevelt, in the now quiet White House, found that he had missed Churchill's company and he sent him a message in London, foreseeing the brilliance their friendship would make in history.

"It was fun to be in the same decade as you," it read, "