In his first term as president, Woodrow Wilson sought to transform America. In his second term, he sought to transform the world. RJ Pestritto, professor of politics at Hillsdale College, describes how this once-obscure academic became one of America’s most influential presidents.
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Script:
For over a hundred years, the United States of America had relied on the genius of individuals to solve problems. It was often chaotic but incredibly productive, leading to the greatest economic expansion in world history.
For Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, the time had come to bring order to that chaos. That would mean less freedom for the individual, but, at least in theory, more equality across society.
It was an exchange that perfectly fit into his progressive worldview: that the government should be active in every aspect of American life.
In a remarkable first term, Wilson laid the groundwork for this transformation of America.
In his second term, Wilson sought to transform the world.
The First World War — 1914 to 1918 — gave him the opportunity.
Initially, Wilson did everything he could to keep the nation out of that war. In fact, the reason he won his re-election in 1916 was his promise not to send American boys to fight on another continent.
But within two years, over two million Americans would be on that continent. Over a hundred thousand would die.
German aggression, specifically its submarine warfare that killed hundreds of Americans, made it very difficult for Wilson to keep the nation out of the war.
The final straw was the infamous “Zimmermann Telegram” in which the German government promised to help Mexico reclaim much of the Southwest if Mexico would stir up trouble along the Rio Grande.
On April 2, 1917, Wilson asked for a declaration of war. Congress gave it to him fo..
