Arthur S. Link, Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era 1910-1917. Harper & Brothers, 1954. 331 pp. Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era 1910-1917 is the second novel in the five-volume biography of Woodrow Wilson, in which Arthur S. Link is the author1. As such it is recommendable for readers interested in the Wilsonian Era to read the other four novels as well. Professor Arthur S. Link immediately informs the reader of the books thesis in the opening lines of the preface, which reads as "this book represents an attempt to comprehend and re-create the political and diplomatic history of the United States from the beginning of the disruption of the Republican party in 1910 to the entrance of the United States into the First World War in …show more content…
Link particularly focuses on Wilson's attempt to both stay out of the war, as well as mediating an end to hostilities, the Mexican Revolution, missionary diplomacy, American neutrality, relations with Germany and Britain and the sometimes-strenuous relations between Wilson, the Democratic Party and the Progressive movement. While at the same time demonstrating that Wilson was a liberal with reformer ideas, while still being indifferent or worse to women's suffrage and the black civil rights movement, not a progressive radical. The novel itself is split up into ten different chapters each of whom deals with one specific aspect of Wilson's political life from 1910-1917. Interestingly instead of writing the novel in a chronological order, Professor Arthur S. Link instead chooses to write his novel event by event. Meaning that while chapter five Mexico: Interference and defeat, 1913-1917 overlaps, timewise, with six other chapters in the novel, no mention will be made of them unless they are connected to or influenced by one another. With it then moving on to American Neutrality, in relation to WW1, as it was the next event of great importance to occur in Wilson's presidency beginning August
During the Progressive Era, the election of 1912 featured candidates with different ideas for reform. While all of the presidents worked to correct problems during the Progressive Era, President Roosevelt was the most progressive president because he fought for workers rights, regulated business, and conserved land and resources.
After winning the election of 1916 barring the slogan, “We kept us out of war!” Wilson began his “peace without victory” crusade. (Zieger, 44) He failed to identify the secret treaties that were entered between the Allies during the war and Germany’s unwillingness to concede anything from a war they did not lose. When it was apparent that a “peace without victory” would be unattainable all that was left was a catalyst and the United States
The end of World War I left much of America confused on the country’s role in world affairs. Many people believed that the United States should primarily worry about its own issues and problems, and let the world handle their own problems. But President Woodrow Wilson was not one of those people. He believed that the United States should be directly involved in the issues affecting all of the countries of the world. He also wanted the United States to be the country to make a push for a League of Nations. “The people of the United States could act upon no other principle; and to the vindication of this principle they are ready to devote their lives, their honor, and everything that they possess. The normal climax of this the culminating and final war for human liberty has come, and they are ready to put their own strength, their own highest purpose, their own integrity and devotion to the test.” Wilson believed that if the United States needed to be a part of a League of Nations in charge of keeping peace around the world, this would keep America
In 1912, Woodrow Wilson became the next President of the United States. He won the election by promising the people ‘new freedom’ which consisted of lesser tariffs, banking restructuring, antitrust legislation and he planned to modify Theodore Roosevelt’s gunboat diplomacy. Once Mr. Wilson became president, he sent the military to some Caribbean countries and Mexico, and he claimed he did this because he only wanted peace and social equality in the world. When World War I broke out in Europe, President Wilson decided to stay neutral although he had compassion for Great Britain. Moreover, he mainly won re-election in 1916 by making a promise to the American people to keep them out of the war. However, in 1917 President Wilson requested a declaration of war while meeting with Congress. He said it was a combination of pro-British propaganda in the United States and German submarine attacks on American ships. The war had become a war considered against all nations because not only American ships were sunk and lives were lost, and we were a peaceful county. Our nation decided to go to war, and the other countries would have to decide what they wanted to do to
Aside from the Standard Oil example, Johnson interprets history from 1900 to 1914 through Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson. Johnson gave an extensive background of Theodore Roosevelt and his family before talking about his actions are President. Specifically, Johnson shares Roosevelt’s “most notable achievement”, the Panama Canal (Johnson, 620). After spending so much time on Roosevelt, Johnson’s analysis of President Taft portrays Taft as a mediocre leader (Johnson, 623). The beginning of Wilson’s presidency came in 1913, at the end of the 1900 to 1914 time period (Johnson, 627).
The late 19th century to early 20th century is characterized as the Progressive Era. This is when reformers strived for better welfare policies and more rights for the people. Although three presidents reigned during this movement, only two are known for their policies. Theodore Roosevelt, the arrogant and egomaniacal president spoke out of ambition, whereas Woodrow Wilson, the more morally inclined leader spoke out of actual desire. Both had similar ideas, but their means of displaying them, and actually carrying through were different. Roosevelt was militaristic and felt war solved everything. Wilson was a pacifist and felt America should try to help their own people first before going to war. Roosevelt fought for the protection of the
The early to mid 1900s proved to be a whirlwind for politics and society as a whole. While there were a plethora of issues to be dealt with within the Progressive Era, one of the most noteworthy issues to discuss would be that of the working class and the businessmen of the first quarter of the 1900s. The reason why these two portions of society within the Progressive Era are the most relevant to discuss stems from the fact that during the Progressive Era there was a great gap between the upper-class (businessmen) and the lower-class (working class). It was during this time that the country was experiencing great changes to its political platform with several new types of initiatives being taken. The applicability of these reforms and initiatives during this era will be talked about.
Theodore Roosevelt’s death in 1919 left the American progressives without their strongest voice. The void was noticeable as the election neared, and no candidate provided a strong response to Republican Warren G. Harding’s “return to normalcy” rhetoric. Harding’s candidacy struck a chord with an American public overwhelmed with a recent past of violent labor strikes, racial tensions, and economic instability. In effect, Harding offered the American public the very order they
The American Presidency is one of the most criticized political institutions in the world. The American President is held to standards higher than any person can reasonably be expected to uphold and even the slightest mistake on their part can be remembered forever as a historic failure. Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States and is often considered to be one of the “top ten” greatest presidents, yet even he is not immune to historical criticism. While he may have been a very successful president he had his fair share of failures. Two of his chief failures as president were his rather disastrous policies dealing with racial issues and his pushing through of the 1917 espionage act.
Bounded by the end of the nineteenth century and the American entry into World War I, there was change everywhere, both home and abroad; Progressive Era brought rapid changes to the nation’s economic, political, and social sectors. There was an awaken of government, the presidency and congress awake from their late nineteenth century institutional inactivity. There was a move to reform national, state and local government.
Through the course of American history, many great wars and battles have been fought but none have left a greater impact than World War I. World war I was known as the Great War, although America’s initial plan of action was to bring global peace. The tables unfortunately turned on them. The treaty of Versailles which was meant to be a conclusion to the madness, lead to an even greater bloodshed. The Great War span from 1914-1919, within this period of time around 10 million died and 20 million were injured worldwide. The progressive era took place during 1890-1920. The progressive era was a constitutional movement led by a group of citizens that believed that their struggles such as poverty, and violence would get resolved by the government and by education.
Wilson abandoned the imperialist policy and brought to the White House a new way of looking at America’s relations with the outside world. Wilson believed that the United States was the most politically enlightened in a sense under god, he felt that people throughout the world had their right to choose their own governments. Wilson was only protecting people rights to democracy.
Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency marked the beginning of a very liberal period in American history. This new ‘Progressive Era’ was mobilized largely by the middle class as an attempt to put an end to the problems created by the period of excess that was the Gilded Age. Believing that big business was ruining democracy, and assuming a moral obligation to shield the poor and downtrodden from corrupt capitalists, the Progressives commenced an era of sweeping reforms. From the outset, the Progressive movement targeted domestic issues such as political machines, monopolies, and factory regulations. While President Roosevelt—the face of the Progressive movement—frequently became entangled in global affairs during his time in the Whitehouse, the focus of Progressives during this stage remained primarily on domestic concerns. It was not until after Roosevelt’s presidency that the Progressives followed their patron’s lead, becoming active participants in foreign affairs. Theodore Roosevelt’s exit from the spotlight and subsequent return to politics in 1912 caused the Progressives to split from the Republican Party, and when war broke out in Europe in 1914, Progressives were then divided amongst themselves regarding how the Great War should be handled from afar. As foreign policy issues became a larger concern than domestic issues, the Progressives shifted their attention away from home and toward foreign policy.
To better understand the successes and failures of the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, it is essential to define the image he portrayed to the American population during his presidency. Many Americans and historians will claim he was a man of impartiality and the one who led America into WWI. He had a very solid influence on Congress for the many domestic and foreign affair policies he endorsed. The goal is to illustrate how President Woodrow Wilson ran his presidency in the eyes of the American citizens. This will be done by examining the many facades that President Woodrow Wilson exhibited during his term as president. Upon researching the events of President Woodrow Wilson, it is clear that he was significant in moving our nation onward and supporting the American people in every which way possible.
Woodrow Wilson’s presidency was by many accounts one of the most successful in American history. Not only did his domestic affairs and reform policies give birth to the modern age of liberalism but his foreign policies would lead the United States to victory in World War I. This would in turn contribute to the United States involvement in world affairs.