Woodrow WilsonPresident Woodrow Wilson regarded himself as the personal representative of thepeople. “No one but the President,” he said, “seems to beexpected . . . to look out for the general interests of the country”(Internet1).
He developed a program of progressive reform and asserted internationalleadership in building a new world order. In 1917 he proclaimed American’sentrance into World War I a crusade to make the world “safe fordemocracy. ” Wilson had seen the difficulties of war. He was born inVirginia in 1856. The son of a Presbyterian minister who during the Civil Warwas a pastor in Augusta, Georgia, and during Reconstruction a professor in thecharred city of Columbia, South Carolina.
After graduation from Princeton (thenthe College of New Jersey) and the University of Virginia Law School, Wilsonearned his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University and entered upon an academiccareer. In 1885 he married Ellen Louise Axson. Wilson advanced rapidly as aconservative young professor of political science and became president ofPrinceton in 1902. His growing national reputation led some conservativeDemocrats to consider him Presidential material.
First they persuaded him to runfor Governor of New Jersey in 1910. In that campaign he asserted hisindependence of the conservatives and of the machine that had nominated him,endorsing a progressive platform, which he pursued as governor. He was nominatedfor President at the 1912 Democratic Convention and campaigned on a programcalled the New Freedom, which stressed individualism and states’ rights. In thethree-way election he received only 42 percent of the popular vote but anoverwhelming electoral vote.
Wilson dealt with Congress very effectively in hispresidency. On April 2,1917, he asked Congress for a declaration of war onGermany. Massive American effort slowly tipped the balance in favor of theAllies. Wilson went before Congress in January 1918, to pronounce American waraims through a a series of ideas he had known as the Fourteen Points, this wouldestablish a general association of nations indubitably guaranteeing politicalindependence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike. Afterthe Germans signed the Armistice in November 1918, Wilson went to Paris to tryto build an enduring peace.
He later presented to the Senate the VersaillesTreaty, containing the Covenant of the League of Nations. The Versailles Treatywas seven votes shy of being ratifid by the senate. The President, against thewarnings of his doctors, had made a national tour to mobilize public sentimentfor the treaty. President Wilson had aswell have many interventions in countriessuch as: New Mexico, Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua Exhausted,he suffered a stroke and nearly died.
Tenderly nursed by his second wife, EdithBolling Galt, he lived until 1924. The League of Nations was a formerinternational organization that was formed after WORLD WAR I to promoteinternational peace and security. The League of Nations was provided int he useof the Fourteen Points. The basis of the League, the Covenant, was written intothe Treaty of Versailles and other peace treaties and provided for an assembly,a council, and a secretariat. A system of colonial mandates was also set up.
TheU. S. , which failed to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, never became a member. Based in Geneva, the League proved useful in settling minor internationaldisputes, but was unable to stop aggression by major powers, Japan’s occupationof Manchuria (1931), Italy’s conquest of Ethiopia (1935-36), and Germany’sseizure of Austria (1938). It collapsed early in World War II and dissolveditself in 1946. The League established the first pattern of permanentinternational organization and served as a model for its successor, the UNITEDNATIONS.
The Treaty of Versailles, signed on 1871 at the end of theFranco-Prussian War by Bismarck. France was forced to give up most of Alsace andLorraine, pay a large indemnity, and accept a German army of occupation. TheVersailles Treaty of 1919 is the most famous of the treaties because it was thechief one ending World War I. The Big Four negotiating it were President WIlson,Premier Clemenceau, Prime Minister Llyod George, and Premier Oralndo.
The treatycalled for the creation of the League of Nations. It forced on Germany theburden of reperations and placed limits on German armed forces. It restoredAlsace and Lorraine to France, gave Prussian Poland and most of West Prussia toPoland, made Danzig a free city, put Germany’s colonies under the League ofNations, placed the Saar under French administration, called for plebiscites invarious territories newly freed from the Central Powers, mand called for thedemilitarization of the Rhineland. American opposition to the League of Nationsresulted in the refusal of the U. S.
Senate to ratify the treaty. In 1935, AdolfHitler unilaterally abrogated most of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. TheTreaty of Paris was one of the most important treaties signed at or near Paris. The Treaty of 1763 was signed by Great Britain, France, and Spain. Together withthe Treaty of Hubertusburg it ended the Seven Years War.
“France lostCanada to Britain, Cuba and the Philippines were restored to Spain, and India ineffect passed to Britain”(Internet 2). From this treaty dated the colonialand maritime supremacy of Britain. In the Treaty of 1783 Great Britain formallyacknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies as the U. S.
The treatyalso fixed the boundaries of the new nation. In addition, the warring Europeanpowers-Britain against France and Spain, with the Dutch as armedneutrals-effected a large-scale peace settlement. Spain reacquired the Floridasand Minorca from Britain, and Britain relinquished its restrictions on theFrench port of Dunkirk. Otherwise, the territorial dispositions of the 1763Treaty of Paris were reaffirmed. The Treaty of 1814 was concluded between Franceon the one hand and Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia on the other after thefirst abdication of NApoleon I.
Its provisions never went into effect owing tothe return of Napoleon from Elba and the resumption of the war. The Treaty of1815 was signed after Napoleon’s final surrender. Many provisions of the treatyof 1814 and the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna remained binding. France wasreduced to its 1790 borders and was forced to pay 700 million francs inreparations plus the costs of an army of occupation for five years. After WorldWar I severeal treaties were signed (1919-20) in or near Paris, the mostimportant of which was the Treaty of Versailles After World War II separatetreaties were signed (1947) by the Allies at or near Paris with Italy, Romania,Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland.
Woodrow Wilson had interventions with NewMexico. President Wilson had two fronts to worry about; Mexico and Europe. Belowhis country, the Mexican Revolution was in full swing. Wilson had made his movesin accordance to what he had felt was best for his country and its people. Thesame went for Europe.
He was doing all he could do by just keeping the UnitedStates out of the war. However, in relation to Europe and the World War, Wilsonknew that the United States was not going to be able to stay out of the warforever. After all, the Germans were taking a greater toll on the merchant shipsin the Atlantic. To truely see the situation, one must look back at the electionof 1916. Presidents don’t win elections by telling the people what they don’twant to hear. Wilson was up for re-election that year.
He had been campaigningon the platform of peace. His opponent, Charles Hughes, had favored teh idea ofthe United States getting involved into World War I. Wilson used every politicaltactic he knew to bring Hughes down. Hughes was called the “warcandidate”(Biography of Woodrow Wilson).
Later, Wilson would even use theslogan “Wilson and Peace with Honor, or Hughes with Roosevelt andWar?(Internet 1)” So Wilson did what he had to do in order to stay inoffice. By 1916, Wilson began to realize where his country stood in relation tothose that were fighting. He had been paying attention to the press to see theresults of the events that were unfolding. In particular, the Battle of theSomme struck President Wilson with deep concern. At this battle, the Britishwere on the offensive against the Germans.
The British command called for a fiveday assualt with heavy cannon. After the shelling, the soldiers were expected tosimply walk over claim the land. The offensive failed and as a result, theBritish suffered casualties near 70,000 in just a few days time. At that time,the United States military personel numbered less than 150,000. The UnitedStates, at that rate, would have only been able to last for a few days if theyentered the war.
This brings us to the main point of this article; Wilson had toget his armed forces up in numbers without breaking his campaign promise to hispeople. How was Wilson suppossed to do this? The answer was Pancho Villa. PanchoVilla was a very predictable man. After the events down in Agua Prieta, Villawas on a one course action, death to all Americans.
Villa made his first move inJanuary of 1916. Engineers from El Paso were on their way to open up a mine downin Mexico. They had been given assurances that there was nothing to fear. Whileenroute by way of rail, the engineers were stopped and pulled off the train. Allwere put down on their knees and shot in the back of the head. Villa had begunto deliver his promise to the Americans.
Wilson was aware of this. All he had todo was to wait for the right moment. Wilson’s chance came in early March of1916. Sometime around the 6th of March, U.
S. intelligence began to send reportsto Washington that Villa and his men had been seen along the border nearColumbus. These reports would continue up until the 9th of March when Villafinally made his attack. Although history plays the attack as a suprise, eventsleading up to the attack suggest that the U. S.
government knew of Villa’slocation and intentions. Just prior to the attack, Lieutenant George Patton, whowas being stationed at Columbus, was ordered, along with the remaining officers,to leave for a polo match near Deming, New Mexico. Patton would later remark inhis diary that he had never played the sport before. Also, when the attack didoccur, the press made a big deal about the machine guns being still in theirstorage cases. Had Columbus known of Villa’s location, it would have been likelythat the machine guns would probably had been readied. Throughout hispresidency, Wilson showed a pattern of bullying and deception, and great desireto involve the American people in wars that they had no desire to get into.
Thefirst example is Mexico. Wilson had an intense personal hatred of Mexico’sPresident, General Victotiano Huerta, because he had suppressed a left-wingrevolution. This hatred led Wilson to try to provoke a war with Mexico. He gothis chance when a small number of Americans where arrested in Mexican port ofTampico.
Knowing that Wilson was looking for an exuse for war, Huertaimmediately ordered the release of the Americans, and personally apologized tothem for the incident. But Wilson would not let the situation end at that. Hedemanded more apologies, and even worse demanded that some of the Mexicansinvolved salute the American flag! Imagine if you were a soldier in the AmericanArmy and were ordered by a foreign leader to salute a foreign flag. Of coursethe Mexicans refused, so Wilson got his chance to start a war, and launched asurprise attack on the barely defended Mexican city of Vera Cruz. Fortunatelyfor the youth of both countries, Huerta was not as eager for war as Wilson. Sohe got several Latin American governments to intercede.
Wilson demanded that anypeace be on the condition of Huerta stepping down as president of Mexico. Showing how much more of a man Huerta was than Wilson, Huerta agreed to Wilson’sdemands rather than allowing the war to continue. The results of Wilson’swarmongering were disastrous for Mexico. The Wilson-backed regime who came topower after Huerta stepped down was too weak to hold his country together, andMexico fell into civil war.
In a five month period Mexico City changed hands sixtimes. The notorious Mexican bandit Pancho Villa almost got control of Mexico inthe struggle. Eventually the Wilson-backed regime of Venustiano Carranzo emergedon top, but it was too weak to suppress Villa, who led multiple raids into theUnited States. Wilson, ever the mummer of Mars, used Villa’s raids into theUnited States to justify savage incursions by the US Army into Mexico, which didlittle more than make Villa a hero to the people of northern Mexico.
TheSpanish-American War is often offered up as an example of American imperialism. But Haiti is a much better one. Haiti also vividly illustrates Wilson’s truecharacter which he was so effective in hiding from the public. Wilson thoughtFrance and Germany were becoming too influential in Haiti, and for this reasoninvaded that sovereign republic that neither did nor wanted to do any acthostile to the United States. Soon after the marines had secured control ofHaiti, Wilson had a puppet government set up, and forced it to elect PhillippeDartiguenave president. Next, Wilson tired to force his puppets to sign a treatythat would essentially cede Haitian sovereignty to the United States.
But thepuppets would not submit, so Wilson declared martial law and made AdmiralCaperton the absolute dictator over all of Haiti. Wilson again tried to forcethe Haitian government to submit to the same humiliating treaty by withholdingthe salaries of all government employees until they complied. They finally gavein. Wilson then held a show election for a constitutional assembly. When theassembly met, Wilson simply had his military commanders order the delegates toratify his own constitution. They bravely refused, and are heroes as much asthose who took the Tennis Court Oath more than a century earlier; but theAmerican general in command, General Cole, dissolved the assembly, and decidedto hold a referendum on it.
It was absurd, a type of election that Stalin wouldhave approved of, with armed soldiers at every polling place, making sure everyHaitian that might try to vote against the American imposed constitution saw theerror of his decision. So much for Wilson the lover of democracy. AfterwardsHaiti became an dictatorship under the American military. The corvee was soonrevived, and slavery returned to our Hemisphere. The American militarycommanders used Haitian slave labor mainly to build roads, which would allowthem to quickly move troops to suppress any resistance to American rule. Duringa revolt against the American system of forced labor and military occupation,the Marine Corps reports it killed 3250 Haitians(History of Haiti).
PresidentWilson in 1916 established a military dictatorship over the Dominican Republic. Wilson also had the marines occupy and subdue large part of Nicaragua at thatgovernment’s request. President Woodrow Wilson has been marked for his greatissue of foreign poilicy. Latin America was effected greatly by all the policiesthat were promoted by President Wilson.
Although some of his ideas were denied,such as the League of Nations, his effort to unite the nations has made a bigimpact on American and Latin American history. Woodrow Wilson is the presidentwith the greatest intervention in Latin America.
