Lecture #9: Comprehensive Notes on the Presidency of Woodrow Wilson: Domestic Reforms, Moral Diplomacy, and the Prelude to World War I

Personal Background and Political Rise of Woodrow Wilson

• Woodrow Wilson was born in Virginia in $1856$, during the era of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. His upbringing in the South significantly influenced his worldview.

• He pursued higher education in New England at Johns Hopkins University, where he earned a PhD in political science.

• Wilson's professional career included serving as the president of Princeton University and as a one-term governor of New Jersey from $1911$ to $1913$.

• Wilson, a Democrat, won the presidential election of $1912$ primarily due to a split in the Republican Party between William Howard Taft (the Republican candidate) and Teddy Roosevelt (running for the Progressive "Bull Moose" Party).

• He was only the second Democrat to hold the presidency since the start of the American Civil War in $1861$.

• As an academic, Wilson expressed skepticism regarding the American system of government, preferring a parliamentary system. He often grew impatient with the Democratic debates in the House of Representatives, believing individual states held too much power to influence or derail important legislation.

• Wilson was a "hyper-charged" progressive who heavily favored the use of experts and scientists in government. He believed that specialists, rather than career politicians, should make decisions and run programs through a growing bureaucratic state.

Domestic Policy and Economic Reforms

• During his first two years in office, Wilson focused heavily on financial reform and how the federal government funded its operations.

• The Sixteenth Amendment: Ratified shortly before he took office, this amendment authorized the federal government to impose an income tax. Previously, a federal income tax had only existed between $1863$ and $1872$ to pay for the Civil War.

• The Revenue Act of $1913$: This act significantly shifted the government's revenue model away from reliance on tariffs.

  • Southerners historically disliked tariffs because they increased the cost of goods for agricultural regions while protecting Northern manufacturers from foreign competition.

  • The act lowered existing tariff rates by $10\times 10^{0}\%$ and implemented a tax on personal income for those earning above $\$4,000$.

  • At its inception, the income tax only affected about $3\times 10^{0}\%$ of the American population.

• The Revenue Act of $1916$: This legislation reinstated the federal estate tax and established taxes on the production of war materials.

  • It raised the top income tax rate to $15\times 10^{0}\%$ for individuals.

  • It increased the corporate income tax rate from $1\times 10^{0}\%$ to $2\times 10^{0}\%$.

  • During World War I, the top tax rate for the wealthiest Americans would eventually climb to $77\times 10^{0}\%$.

• The Federal Reserve System: Wilson shepherded the creation of a central bank and regional banks. The goal was to provide a flexible money supply and a mechanism for the government to regulate circulation, thereby managing inflation, deflation, and financial panics.

• Antitrust Activities: Wilson was a staunch advocate for antitrust laws.

  • He pushed through the Clayton Antitrust Act of $1914$, which expanded on the Sherman Antitrust Act by explicitly defining anti-competitive practices.

  • He oversaw the creation of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a new regulatory agency with independent authority to investigate and enforce antitrust laws without going through the Justice Department.

The Shift to Foreign Policy: Moral Diplomacy

• Wilson initially had no experience in foreign affairs and famously remarked to a friend, "It would be the irony of fate if my administration had to deal chiefly with foreign affairs."

• Wilson rejected the foreign policy styles of his predecessors:

  • Gunboat Diplomacy: Used by Teddy Roosevelt; Wilson disliked militaristic saber-rattling.

  • Dollar Diplomacy: Used by William Howard Taft; Wilson opposed using American economic power to bully other nations.

• Moral Diplomacy: Wilson proposed a policy centered on ethics, sovereignty, human rights, and being a "good neighbor."

  • He was the son of a Presbyterian minister and viewed the world through a strict moral lens of "rights and wrongs."

  • He was a moralist, often appearing self-righteous, condescending, or lecture-oriented to those who disagreed with him.

  • Although William Jennings Bryan served as Secretary of State, Wilson essentially ran his own foreign policy.

  • The ultimate goals of Moral Diplomacy were worldwide justice, worldwide peace, and the global extension of democracy.

Global Peace Efforts and Idealism

• Many at the time believed war was outdated due to the interconnectedness provided by the steamship, telephone, and globalized economies.

• Cooling Off Treaties: Between $1913$ and $1914$, Wilson and Bryan negotiated treaties with approximately $30$ countries, including England, France, and Italy.

  • These treaties obligated signatories to submit disputes to a permanent commission for investigation rather than going to war.

  • The intent was to allow time for emotions to cool and for leaders to realize that war was not worth the "expense of blood and treasure."

  • This idealist approach proved ineffective; when World War I broke out in August $1914$, no nation paused to use these arbitration boards.

Relations with Latin America and the Panama Canal

• Wilson sought to focus on national integrity and human rights in Latin America but often drifted into interventionism.

• The Panama Canal Apology: In $1914$, Wilson expressed "sincere regret" for the way Teddy Roosevelt had orchestrated the Panamanians' rebellion against Colombia to secure the canal territory.

  • Wilson offered to pay Colombia $\$25,000,000$ and gave them preferential treatment for canal use as reparations.

  • Critics pointed out the hypocrisy in Wilson's apology, as he did not offer to return the canal or grant Colombia its territory back (likened to a car thief sending an apology and money while keeping the car).

• Military Interventions: Despite his rhetoric, Wilson intervened in Latin America more than Roosevelt and Taft combined.

  • Sent U.S. Marines into Haiti in $1915$.

  • Sent U.S. Marines into the Dominican Republic in $1916$.

  • Maintained the U.S. Marine presence in Nicaragua.

Conflict in Mexico and the Tampico Incident

• Historical Context: In $1911$, the long-time ruler Porfirio Diaz was overthrown. American businesses had over $\$1,000,000,000$ in Mexican investments (mines, farms, oil fields like Standard Oil).

• Francisco Madero: A liberal reformer who briefly took power but was overthrown and murdered in a coup led by General Victoriano Huerta.

• Wilson's Pursuit of Huerta: Wilson refused to recognize Huerta's government, labeling him a "butcher." He broke his own rules of Moral Diplomacy to intervene, stating he wanted to "teach the South American republics to elect good men."

• Mexican Civil War: Wilson supported rebel forces led by Venustiano Carranza, Alvaro Obregón, Emiliano Zapata, and Pancho Villa.

• The Blockade: Wilson deployed the U.S. Navy to Mexican ports to block European (specifically German) arms shipments to Huerta.

• The Tampico Incident:

  • In April $1914$, seven American sailors were arrested by Huerta's forces near or on a strategic bridge while purchasing gasoline in Tampico.

  • They were released within hours with an apology, but Wilson demanded a more formal, humiliating apology: the hoisting of the American flag over the forts at Veracruz and a salute to the Stars and Stripes.

• Seizure of Veracruz: When Huerta refused the salute, Wilson ordered the military to occupy the port of Veracruz in April $1914$.

  • The conflict resulted in the deaths of $19$ Americans and $71$ wounded.

  • The U.S. occupied the city for several months, improving sanitation and public health.

• Resolution: Under pressure from the ABC Powers (Argentina, Brazil, and Chile), mediation occurred. Huerta resigned in July $1914$ and fled to Europe with much of the Mexican treasury. Carranza eventually took power, and the U.S. withdrew honorably after Carranza promised not to punish collaborators.

The Outbreak of World War I in Europe

• The war resulted from the collapse of the European balance of power maintained since the end of the Napoleonic era in $1815$.

• German Unification: Led by Kaiser Wilhelm and Otto von Bismarck, Prussia won the Franco-Prussian War in $1870$, leading to the creation of the German Empire. France was forced to give up Alsace and Lorraine, leading to deep bitterness.

• Militarization: The Second Industrial Revolution allowed for mass production of uniforms, weapons, and food, enabling countries to maintain standing armies in the millions.

• Mobilization: Winning depended on who could mobilize fastest via internal railroads. This created high tension, as mobilization was often seen as an act of aggression.

• The Balkan "Powder Keg": Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo on June $28$, $1914$, by a Serbian nationalist.

  • This triggered a web of entangling alliances:

  • The Central Powers: Germany, Austro-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

  • The Allied Powers: France, Britain, Russia, Italy, Serbia, and Belgium (and their various colonies).

The Evolution of Warfare and Trench Realities

• The war changed from a war of maneuver to a static "meat grinder" of trench warfare.

• A $500\text{-mile}$ long trench line existed from the North Sea to the Swiss border.

• No Man's Land: The space between opposing trenches where attacks required suicidal frontal assaults through barbed wire.

• Technology:

  • Machine guns firing $6 \times 10^{2}$ rounds per minute.

  • Long-range steel tube artillery and high explosives.

  • The debut of chemical weapons (poison gas) and flamethrowers.

  • Introduction of tanks and the use of aircraft for bombing and strafing.

• Human Cost: On July $1$, $1916$, during the Battle of the Somme, the British suffered $60,000$ casualties in a single day, including $20,000$ fatalities.

United States Reaction and the Path to War

• Wilson's Neutrality Options:

  • 1. Progressive Neutrality: Ignore the war completely and quarantine the U.S. from global madness.

  • 2. Pragmatic Neutrality: Trade with both sides at inflated prices (Thomas Jefferson's advice to "fatten on the follies of the old world").

  • 3. Support the Allies: Back the "good guys" without sending troops (Teddy Roosevelt's view).

• Wilson officially declared neutrality but allowed trade with the Allies to flourish while Britain's blockade cut off Germany.

• U-Boats and Unrestricted Submarine Warfare:

  • Germany used submarines to counter the British surface blockade.

  • They declared a $100\text{-mile}$ war zone around England and Ireland, stating they would sink any ship without warning.

  • Submarines lacked the space to take on passengers from merchant vessels (due to "hot bunking" practices) and were too vulnerable to surface risks.

  • This "frightfulness" and the killing of civilians would eventually become the primary factor bringing the U.S. into the war.

Questions & Discussion

• Question 1: What was the name of Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy?
  Response: Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy was known as "Moral Diplomacy."

• Question 2: In April $1914$, Woodrow Wilson ordered American troops to seize what city in Mexico?
  Response: Wilson ordered the seizure and occupation of the port city of Veracruz.