Wilsonian Idealism before and after WWI
As the last of the progressive presidents, Woodrow Wilson was a determined idealist. Nowhere did he show his strong morals and optimistic visions then on the front of foreign diplomacy. Wilson wanted America to diverge from its imperialistic, land-grabbing selfish policies, and enter a new era where politics would be controlled by “sheer honesty and even unselfishness.” He displayed his true idealism when faced with the Great War in Europe. True believer of the Monroe Doctrine, Wilson declared neutrality from the begging. Although crammed with British anti-German propaganda, and outraged by Germany’s unrestricted warfare, the people were moved by Wilson’s moral promise to “keep us out of war.” Wilson however was far more pragmatic than most people believed. He was getting ready for war, and even showed favoritism towards the Allied Powers by trading with the British and not the Germans. When Germany finally pulled the last straw with the Zimmerman note, and the sinking of the Sussex, Wilson had no choice but to enter the conflict. This he did however, in the most gentlemanly way possible. He urged congress to declare war only on conditions that once the war was over, no unrealistic demands be made on the loosing side s
No matter how Wilson tried to be the moral judge in the war, the European nations lost too many men to just stop fighting without getting anything in return. At the Paris Conference, British and French delegates would not allow Wilson to implement all of his 14 points. They forced land concessions and the guilt clause into the Treaty, in return for allowing Wilson to create the League of Nations. Wilson believed that the trade-off was fair because the League would correct all the wrongs once it began functioning properly under American leadership. Conversely, the Republicans back at home had a different idea. They attacked the almighty idealistic Wilson for giving away to the demands of the Allies, and abandoning his reasons for going into war. The Republicans would not allow the League of Nations to pass through congress without altering it, and Wilson, tired of compromising on issues that were absolutely essential to be altered, would not let his Democrats vote for the altered League. As a result, Wilson doomed the League and the idealistic approach to foreign policy. The democrats lost the election of 1920, and more importantly, The Treaty of Versailles remained unchanged, a mistake that would eventually spark Germany to fire up World War II. uch as a guilt clause. He also stated that he would fight for the right for self-determination, and the creation of an international organization that would be responsible for keeping peace across the entire world. Although it seemed that the “unselfish” half of his dogma was completed, “honesty” was far from Wilson’s mind. During the war, Wilson advocated acts that on some level were unconstitutional suc
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Approximate Word count = 1124
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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