Woodrow Wilson and the Great War By The Northern Rose

Woodrow Wilson is one of the most forgotten Presidents in United States history. Narrowly elected in 1913, because Theodore Roosevelt pulled the vote apart by running as a third party candidate, Wilson helped to establish the modern day Presidency. He himself was heavily influenced by both President Roosevelt and the British model of government.

President Wilson believed that the President should be more like the British Prime Minister. He should be the leader of his party in Congress and have a close relationship with the legislative branch. Today, greatly because of Wilson, the President tends to be the leader of the party. They also have great influence over their parties decisions in the legislative branch.

Woodrow Wilson created what we know as the New Freedom Agenda. He ran on a platform that called for economic fairness and justice. Today we call this social justice. His presidency can be deemed successful because he went after unfair business practices and created child labor reforms.

 When we think of Wilson we usually think of the way he promised to stay out of the Great War with Germany but eventually joined anyway. The fact of the matter was that he had no choice. In January of 1917 the Germans declared unrestricted warfare against ships in the seas around the British Isles. This was Germany's strategy to provoke the United States into the war. What the Germans did not account for was just how quickly the US could mobilize. When Germany declared this new type of battle they figured that they could defeat the allied powers before the US truly mobilize, this was not the case.

By March of 1917 several US ships had been attacked and Wilson was backed into a corner. This was even more true because of the infamous Zimmerman Telegram that was leaked to the American people. In this telegram German diplomats tried to convince Mexico to join the war against the United States of America. There was more public outcry than what makes it into history books.

On March 20, 1917 Wilson would meet with his Cabinet and they would decide to join the war. In that meeting it was concluded that Germany had been waging a commercial war against the US and that they had no choice but to present them with a formal declaration of war. Now, he had to present his arguments to Congress. In American politics a President cannot actually declare war, only Congress has that power. Thusly, on April 6, 1917 the United States declared a bipartisan declaration of  war against Germany.



World War I only lasted for a little over a year after the United States entered it. Yet, the United States felt that it was important for them to be involved in Reconstruction. Woodrow Wilson played a big part in this. While debating the Treaty of Versailles he would introduce his Fourteen Points. The most significant of these points was the creation of a League of Nations. Unfortunately for Wilson, the League of Nations would not survive. In fact, it would be the united States that caused its downfall. Yet, more importantly, without Wilson and his League of Nations there would be no United Nations today.

President Woodrow Wilson might not be remembered by most people. He might not be liked by most people. Yet, he is still important to history. Wilson helped to shape the modern world as we know it today. Most importantly, he attempted to hold the Presidency in a higher standard than it had been before. We must always remember this.

By The Northern Rose