President Wilson can be considered one of the most revolutionary leaders in American history. Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States from 1913 till 1921, making him the President during and after WWI. The legacy of Wilson exists in the well known ideology of Wilsonianism which categorizes Wilson's beliefs in regards to foreign and domestic policies. A revolution consists of a rapid change in a short period of time, or it refers to something radically new. This is why Wilson may be considered revolutionary because he changed the direction of both domestic and foreign american politics. This paper will further articulate how exactly Woodrow Wilson made such a revolutionary impact on the United States.
In order to comprehend how President Woodrow Wilson left such a revolutionary legacy, one must first understand the man himself. Wilson was not appreciated as much as he should have been during his time. It has been historically reported that Wilson was often difficult to work with and his personality was his downfall. Despite that, Wilson was a religious leader; he felt that it was his moral obligation to make the world safe for democracy. "He believed that natural law decreed a self-regulating world of free individuals, hence his devotion to free trade and hostility to big corporations, labour unions, and bureaucracy."(McDougall, 126)
Wilson also believed in demilitarization to a certain extent because Wilson was not fully against war, he did feel that war was the last resort for diplomatic relations. Before Wilson came into power, the United States was following an isolationist tradition in the sense that they did not care about the rest of the World, only their own domestic development. When President Wilson was elected in 1913, he had promised no to enter the war but as it turned out, he had not other choice to fight for democracy. Even though Wilson won his first election based on a lie of staying out of the war, he continued to be President for two terms. This gave Wilson enough time to become the revolutionary we know of today.
Woodrow Wilson left a revolutionary legacy for the United States. He changed the outlook of American foreign policy, from isolationist to progressive imperialist. This made Wilson a revolutionary leader because he was brining change to American traditions at a rapid pace. It has been said that the world, including America, was not ready for Wilson, his revolutionary beliefs were not considered as important during his time then they are now. This is because Wilson was suggesting things never known to the United States, such as the creation of the League of Nations following WWI. Even though Wilson failed to get the Senate to approve his proposal for the League, his idealist ideas lived on passed his Presidency. It has been said that "Wilson may not have gotten everything he wanted at Versailles, and his treaty was never ratified by the Senate, but his vision and his diplomacy, for better or worse, set the tone for the twentieth century."(Mead)
Most of Wilson's legacy resides from the end of the First World War, and his fourteen point's speech made in order to reassure America that the war existed for moral reasons, and to establish peace in Europe. Wilson was often criticized for his idealistic beliefs; even in modern history Wilson appears to be more of an idealist then a realist. His idealist ideology was based on moral obligations, peace, freedom, and trade. He wanted to ensure the future held strong diplomatic relations amongst nations. Wilson was brining new ideas into America during a time of a booming domestic front, making his ideas a revolutionary legacy to modern history.
Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Point's speech has had a revolutionary effect on American foreign policy since the end of WWI. Although Wilsonianism failed with the disapproval of the League after WWI, the United Nations, another Wilsonian concept, has been created and sustained since the end of WWII. The fourteen points speech reflect changes that needed to be made in order to guarantee European peace, as well as establishing trade, water war rules, and the League of Nations.
Wilsonianism focused on the liberal duty of the United States as a global leader, and promoter of democracy. This is revolutionary to modern history because it was not until after WWII that Wilsonianism came alive again. This is when trade opened up, the United Nations was founded, and the international community was finally committed to establishing peace in Europe. Critics of Wilsonianism like to focus on the failures of it to take hold after WWI, WWII and the Cold War. However, despite the failures, Wilson believed in something new during his time, and he change the traditional beliefs of American's, making him leave more of a revolutionary legacy than Lenin.
Wilsonianism, as an ideology of former President Woodrow Wilson, has left a revolutionary legacy on American foreign politics. In essence Wilsonianism followed progressive imperialism and missionary diplomacy. This made the United States involved in spreading democracy and freedom to the oppressed world. The legacy of Wilson remains dominant in many aspects of American foreign and domestic policies.
Finally Wilsonianism is proving to show strength in terms of democracy. Wilson always specified that the world would be safe for democracy through diplomatic relations. Modern history proves that Wilson was right, through open trade and progressive imperialism, the United States has taken on the role of a global leader. This is what Wilson saw years before it became a reality, making him a modern day revolutionary. The end of the Cold War allowed the world to see that democracy would prevail as a dominant global ideology, making Wilsonianism essential to the modern world. It may have taken almost a century but Woodrow Wilson has proven to have left a revolutionary legacy.
Sources:
McDougall, Walter A. Promised Land, Crusader State: The American encounter with the World since 1776. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1997.
Mead, Walter R. Special Providence Exert. 2001. http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/authors/mead/excerp t.html