Woodrow Wilson/Analysis

Woodrow Wilson's presidency is filled with much in the way of controversy by historians in recent years, generally because of his questionable foreign policy and well documented racism.

On the foreign policy front, he has become highly controversial for getting America involved in the war in the first place. Some of Patriotic Fervor policies he pursued during America's entry into WW 1 may well have assisted the spread of Spanish Influenza from its starting point in Kansas despite the warnings of doctors and scientists of the time to avoid the massive, crowded war rallies that were great for morale but terrible for a sanitation and containing the spread of disease. This, combined with the fact that the world for the most part still had lacked the capacity and knowledge to easily contain a disease to any one area help assured that the pandemic that had originated in the United States came to the rest of the world. He also, in his naivety, favored the British and French over the conflict, while, at the same time, overlooking their own violations of American neutrality, by doing such things as mining the North Sea and cutting the Trans-Atlantic Cable.

But the single biggest controversy stems from Wilson's handling of the post-war peace. First of all, when the Germans came to him seeking peace, he refused to talk to them unless the Kaiser abdicated and a new government was elected. The reason for this was his idealism: He foolishly saw the war as a battle between Democracy (Britain and France, as Russia had already dropped out of the war) and Dictatorship (Germany and Austria, despite the fact that Germany was already a constitutional monarchy with a mostly elected government) and refused to do business with a "non-democratic regime". Of course the Kaiser abdicated, but all this did was lead to the weak Weimar Republic, an unstable government that the German people never trusted and came to hate as it almost led Germany to financial ruin. he also did not bring any Republicans with him to the Treaty talks (a huge faux pas at that time period as foreign policy is supposed to be non-partisan) thus greatly ticking off the Republicans who had just won a majority in the senate (the body that passes treaties.

To add insult to the growing list of injuries, he didn't live up to his own 14 Points: He wanted and end to all secret treaties, but the peace talks were held in secret. He wanted all nations treated as equals, but consented to telling Germany to wait out in the hallway while the other nations talked about the conflict. He eventually abandoned most of his 14 Points in favor of the League of Nations. This led to the castration of the German state, and making it near impossible for them to pay off their own (way too high) war reparation and to top it all off he spat in Germany's face by allowing the war guilt clause to be included. And Wilson consented to all of this.

The irony of it all is that Wilson could have avoided it. He could have made the Allies hold the talks in public and allow Germany in to the talks because he held all the cards. He had actually threatened the Allies into the talks by saying that if they didn't come, he would pull the US out of the war and leave the Euros to fight among themselves. Considering the sorry state of the Allied forces (both the British and French armies had mutinied twice since the war had started, and the only reason the German Spring Offensive had failed was because of American intervention), they would have had no choice. And he still allowed this to happen. Why? Because he felt all issues could be resolved in the League of Nations. Which America hadn't even joined yet. And wouldn't join because he had ticked off the Republicans.

Many historians argue that none this effected the Republicans feelings on this matter at the time, as they were staunchly isolationist. In truth the Republican Party was not nearly as isolationist as everyone thinks it was. They were simply keeping up with America's old idea of avoiding "foreign entanglements" (hence why the U.S. was an "associated", not Allied Power); post war America simply tried to keep the peace in its own way outside of such things as the League of Nations. And let's not forget that the main criticism to Wilson's plans was the unfairness towards Germany and the seeming hypocrisy of the other nations (some of which were already making secret agreements with each other in defiance of the 14 points).

All of these points have led to a major controversy surrounding Wilson's legacy. This has even led to thoughts among some that Wilson can accept a lot of the blame for WWII. The discussion of the issue is currently a source of contention and ongoing discussion.