Woodrow Wilson and World War I - Report Example

Woodrow Wilson and the World War I Introduction Thomas Woodrow Wilson, one of the most prominent intellectual among the leaders of the past was born on 28th December, 1856 in Virginia. Wilson had endured a great journey of excellence before he became the 28th President of America. Wilson was a great success in his profession who soon became a young professor of political science and in 1902; he became the president of Princeton (Rumsch, 4-7). That was a slow beginning of his political career all by destiny; people of his presidential era loved him so much that they wanted him to contest for the Presidential race. What makes Wilson really special among the great leaders of all time is his tenure itself. Immediately after inducting to be the president, he was forced to take the ultimate decision. America was of course on the brim of a collateral damage if it continued its neutral stand for a long time. Wilson’s decision was of vital significance to America during the war. Wilson was initially reluctant to enter the war but consequently, as a result of the continental political pressure he left the neutral course and joined the front line of the World War (Hoff, 45), (Daniels, 272). He exercised his vision of a great future after the war and emphasized the country’s involvement with a right entry. Wilson deserves a higher degree of appraisal for his policy formulation and implementation as they laid the success line for unifying American countries once again under one roof. The greatest of his efforts on framing a strong set up of public administration strategies held him high and attracted attention of world leaders of his time and later with absolute honor. Wilson was thus in fact a role model even for his enemies in the success he adorned in public administration. Emergence of a Great Leader Wilson’s stand was diplomatic in the beginning of the World War – I. Though he emerged as the top congressman of the American parliament, his policies were against unwanted conservatism found in the labor management as well as the discriminative social pattern of the country (Seymour, 114-115). His speeches and power of imagination provoked the thought of commoners who accounted for the 42 per cent vote he gained from electoral voting in 1912. With his special tactics and political redefinitions, he could manage to occupy a noble position in the people’s heart. Since his focus was mainly on the progress of general workers and children, he amended the governing system with new laws of labor. As Sanders (p.67) states, Initially Wilson did not think that German victory will be of any threat to the US; and he desired to be a war arbiter. However, as Germany proposed a pact with Mexico to attack and ruin the United States. German naval force was dominant over the Americans which sank every ship found on water without a warning. It was then Wilson felt restless and asked the congress to declare war. His intensions were clear that he merely wanted a consolidated administration possibly ensuring the economic and social progress of America. Even during the war time, he had evidently spent much of his time on discussions of progressive directions from the government’s line of administration. Wilson’s decision was warmly welcomed by the senate as well as the opposition with endeavored zest to fight the greatest war with a multi talented thought to plunge into the international market with secreted motive of becoming a monopolistic war plane designer and an international ammunition vendor with the greatest excellence. Welfare activities Wilson was an expert at finding financial assistance for the war. He was a great philosopher par excellence and a leader at his best. There are various factors to prove his war time effectiveness that helped America to secure a prolific post war position in international politics. For instance, he maintained an unselfish foreign policy which insisted on the importance of both manner and strength (Pierce, 190). Wilson’s creditable effects on politics were the introduction of Liberty Bonds to raise war funding and the War Industries Board for promotion of labor union growth that supervised agriculture and food production. Another major step was the Lever Act which regulated the rail transport system of the U.S by undertaking the management of entire rail roads in the country. President Woodrow Wilson was of the view that development of the country spread among three sectors of the society; the labor force, the army men and the women. The first draft ever designed in the U.S. was by him to enforce liberty to people at the best possible level by ensuring productivity of labor and betterment of the society as it was largely expected from women’s empowerment. Wilson’s guaranteed promises were centered mainly on drug prohibition he which he accomplished with the enactment of the Lever Act in 1917. A conservative democrat Wilson always wanted to have the liberty of his people; the liberty in financial affairs, the liberty in political and social aspects and the liberty the constitution guaranteed in choosing the right place and life style in the country. However, Wilson always had to face tremendous criticism from the opposition consisting of the political giants among the Republicans. Fourteen Points Wilson emerged as a war leader for America with an imposing power over the Germans by 1917. Wilson’s political philosophy was then finding a chance to help the people a way out of the grievances of victimization. He invited enthusiasm from the national leaders of different countries to cover the worse effect of the war. While almost all the European countries were financially and politically unstable with the deep impact of the war Wilson glided the victorious American wings over them with a systematic leadership approach. With debacles of the war increasing, Wilson took personal command over Germany and called it for a negotiation. Wilson announced his points on World War I and the peace treaties he advocated to the leading countries during the world. The fourteen points was President Woodrow Wilson’s speech to a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1918. The greatest of all speeches ever could have been, this was intended at assuring all his country men that the war was fought for a great cause and for the eternity of peace in Europe. Some of the main points among the fourteen may be read as follows; a) Assurance of international understanding and political frankness with transparent interaction of the people even in diplomatic policies. b) International covenants’ assurance of absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas alike in peace and in war. c) The removal of all economic barriers and the establishment of equality of trade conditions among all the nations in the peace race. d) Appropriate guarantees on reduction in national armaments to the lowest point with reassured domestic safety. e) Free and impartial adjustments of all colonial claims guaranteed sovereignty and importance of the government formed by the people. (Source: woodrowwilson.org.) The above points in brief along with other nine points were declared by Wilson were meant for the international guarantee of a peace mission he advocated much before the break out of the World War. His principles were considered the guidelines for fighting a rather disastrous war that American people were fearfully waiting for. These fourteen points may be regarded as his greatest achievement as a president to the United States of America. Formation of League of Nations Wilson’s academic profiles and calibrated abilities to interact with tough conditions earned him a great spot in international frontier politics. He realized that the end of the war was very much needed by America as it had started running out of fuel by the beginning of 1919 while other countries had almost perished. France was a dominant power with Britain and the geography of that nation supported in turning the decision making process acceptable to Britain as well. The ally of Britain and France was very much prominent in the force during the World War I. Wilson recognized the need for a political synchronization of the condition and led his way to France in 1919 to create ‘League of Nations(LON)’. Though the establishment had been attributed to Wilson, America kept itself away from the hold of League; and that was a subject for debate (Chaurasia, 294). Regardless of criticism, this can be considered as a skeletal pattern for making a platform that supported the designing of the United Nations Organization later in the due course. “The fundamental issue in the league fight involved the Primarily American foreign policy: what should be its values and aims, its scopes and direction, and its conduct and control?” (Cooper, 4). Wilson suggested immediate solutions to a peace pact among countries fighting the worse form of the World War I during 1919-1920. With this new approach he succeeded in redefining all major political equations in the frontline. Wilson’s league guaranteed collective security of the member countries, disarmament and settlement of international frontier disputes through arbitrations and negotiation. Though the success of the treaty could not maintain its longevity, the impact Wilson’s policies left on international politics is still prevalent in the form of a ‘Faustian substructure of American diplomacy’ (Hoff, 45). Rock solid Leadership Wilson advised a number of administrative equations like demarcation of responsibility lines for administrative at various levels with a common code of supporting law. The name United States of America was brought to its republic with all its real meaning by Woodrow Wilson. The administrative abilities as well as political tactfulness of a great leader were equally represented by Wilson during the tough times of World War I. Emergence of America as a leading power in the world was witnessed during his time. If the war taught him any lesson, he learnt it much practically and executed the plans he designed to resist the advancement of enemy countries with maximum determination to stand the prestige of America taller than other countries. Labor welfare, empowerment of women and creation of guaranteed education were the fundamentals he followed in his administration. Conclusion The greatest gift America received from Wilson’s administration was the implementation of a strategic government. He struggled hard to purify the impressions set by the previous governments by installing practical measures to organize affairs of the ruling body. He was the most successful political reformer among the presidents of America. Wilson considered public administration as a mechanism that worked independent of the changing attitudes of the political leaders. His approach was moderate with which he abridged the growth of colonial moves of foreign states like Prussia, France and England. An international standard of rail road system introduced as early as 1914 is another example of his administrative ability. Unlike any other American president’s, Wilson’s time was the worst for a politician in the history. His greatness is marked with his stability to continue with his policies even in the worst moments of war. His earnest love for peace has an everlasting effect. This is only his claim for such glory in claiming an International Nobel Peace Prize during a devastating period of the worst World War I. President Wilson had his way of doing things in the most righteous manner without an iota of diversion from determination. Beyond anything among his achievements for America, it is his contemplation that guaranteed America a safer political and socio-economic position after the war. Thus one can easily state that Woodrow Wilson as a president and as a person had delivered his best to achieve economic and political stability of a unified America. Works Cited Cooper J M. Breaking the Heart of the World: Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the League of Nations. Cambridge University Press, 2001. Chaurasia R S. History of Europe: 1870-1945, vol, 4. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2002. Daniels, J. The Life of Woodrow Wilson 1856-1924. Kessinger Publishing, 2004. The Fourteen Points. woodrowwilson.org. 18 June 2010 http://www.woodrowwilson.org/topics/topics_show.htm?doc_id=398817 Hoff, J. A Faustian Foreign Policy from Woodrow Wilson to George W Bush: Dreams of Perfectibility. Cambridge University Press, 2008. Pierce, A R. Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman: Mission and Power in American Foreign Policy. Transaction Publishers, 2007. Rumch B A. Woodrow Wilson: United States Presidents Check board Biography Library. ABDO Group, 2009. Sanders, R M. In search of Woodrow Wilson: Beliefs and Behavior. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998. Seymour C. Woodrow Wilson and the World War. Biblio Bazar, LLC, 2008. Read More