Woodrow Wilson – Was He A Father Of The Greatest Generation Or Globalist Disaster?

Woodrow Wilson is considered a father of globalism. His own presidency did not end well.

He was elected as America’s 28th president (POTUS 28) in 1912 on a platform called The New Freedom advocating limited government.

In 1916, Wilson won a second term with the campaign slogans, “He kept us out of war.” and “America First”. He swept the South and the West (except Oregon) but lost the Northeast and most of the Midwest.

In the space of five months, by April 2nd 1917, German attacks on American and international shipping lead POTUS 28 to ask Congress to declare war on Germany, saying:

“The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make.”

The declaration passed 373 to 50 in The House and 82 to 6 in The Senate.

In 1919, Wilson spoke words about World War One heroes, which make for an interesting comparison with the following generation’s achievements in World War Two, “The Americans who went to Europe to die are a unique breed…. (They) crossed the seas to a foreign land to fight for a cause which they did not pretend was peculiarly their own, which they knew was the cause of humanity and mankind. These Americans gave the greatest of all gifts, the gift of life and the gift of spirit.”—speech at Suresnes Cemetery, May 30, 1919.

Wilson’s presidency ended with the President himself in poor health (but still hoping for a third term), the treaty of Versailles (making World War Two inevitable), American GDP falling and a constitutional amendment imposing nationwide Prohibition.

Idealism doesn’t always work.

What price freedom?

Geoff Fox, 2nd April, 2020, Down Under