A Companion to Woodrow Wilson

Few American presidents had such a dramatic and consequential tenure in office as Woodrow Wilson. He was controversial: Wilson presided over the climax of the progressive reform movement, America’s involvement in the First World War, and a tumultuous Senate battle over the League of Nations.  He was a man of paradox: Wilson introduced racial segregation into federal offices while helping to secure the vote for women; worried about the fate of democracy in wartime while attacking America’s constitutional freedoms; and promoted self–determination for oppressed peoples while militarily intervening in other nations.  Featuring contributions from a variety of emerging and established Wilson scholars, A Companion to Woodrow Wilson is a collection of original essays exploring the life and career of this fascinating individual. Individual chapters offer interpretations of the evolution of the historiography of Wilson’s career, summaries of the current state of scholarship, and suggestions for future avenues of research. A Companion to Woodrow Wilson sheds new scholarly light on a profoundly important and complex leader who is considered one of the shapers of our modern presidency.

List of Illustrations ix Notes on Contributors x Introduction 1 Ross A. Kennedy Part I To the Presidency 7 1. Wilson the Man 9 Mark Benbow 2. Wilson’s Religious, Historical, and Political Thought 38 Malcolm D. Magee 3. Path to Power: Wilson as President of Princeton and Governor of New Jersey 55 Edmund D. Potter 4. Presidential Politics and the Election of 1912 71 William B. Murphy Part II National Progressivism and Wilson 89 5. Wilson as Chief Executive: Relations with Congress, the Cabinet, and Staff 91 Robert C. Hilderbrand 6. The New Freedom and its Evolution 106 W. Elliot Brownlee 7. Wilson and Race Relations 133 Jennifer D. Keene 8. Wilson’s Views on Immigration and Ethnicity 152 Kristofer Allerfeldt 9. The Election of 1916 173 Nicole M. Phelps Part III Foreign Relations: Western Hemisphere and Asia, 1913–1921 191 10. Wilson and Mexico 193 Benjamin T. Harrison 11. US Policies Toward Latin America 206 Michael E. Neagle 12. US Policies Toward China, Japan, and the Philippines 225 Anne L. Foster Part IV World War I: Neutrality to War 241 13. Neutrality Policy and the Decision for War 243 Justus D. Doenecke 14. Preparedness 270 Ross A. Kennedy Part V Wartime Progressivism, 1917–1921 287 15. Economic Mobilization 289 Mark R. Wilson 16. Propaganda: Wilson and the Committee on Public Information 308 Richard L. Hughes 17. Civil Liberties 323 Kathleen Kennedy 18. Wilson and Woman Suffrage 343 Barbara J. Steinson Part VI Fighting World War I 365 19. War Aims, 1917 to November 11, 1918 367 John A. Thompson 20. Policies Toward Russia and Intervention in the Russian Revolution 386 David S. Foglesong 21. Wilson’s Policies toward Eastern and Southeastern Europe, 1917–1919 406 M. B. B. Biskupski 22. Wilson and His Commanders 426 Jack McCallum Part VII Peacemaking: Paris and After 443 23. Negotiating Peace Terms for Germany 445 Klaus Schwabe 24. Wilson’s Project for a New World Order of Permanent Peace and Security 470 William R. Keylor 25. Wilson, Europe’s Colonial Empires, and the Issue of Imperialism 492 Priscilla Roberts 26. The League Fight 518 John Milton Cooper, Jr Part VIII Into the Twenties 529 27. Red Scare 531 Adam J. Hodges 28. The Election of 1920 551 Allan J. Lichtman Part IX Wilson’s Shadow 567 29. Legacy and Reputation 569 Lloyd E. Ambrosius Selected Bibliography 588 Index 635

Ross A. Kennedy is Associate Professor of History at Illinois State University. He is the author of The Will to Believe: Woodrow Wilson, World War I, and America′s Strategy for Peace and Security (2009).

“ A Companion to Woodrow Wilson shows how much can be learned from a conscientious bibliographic review. It is an impressive book that—through its best chap­ters—could teach valuable lessons to historians of many topics in addition to those studying Wilson.”  ( Journal of American History , 1 March 2014)