The Impact of Wilsonianism Throughout American History

There is a foreign policy that has caused almost every war America has been in over the past one hundred years. This policy is called Wilsonianism. It was created by the 28th President Thomas “Woodrow” Wilson. The definition of Wilsonianism is that it is the duty of a free democracy to expand itself from its borders and spread its rights to other nations (Ambrosius). It also promotes globalization which is when countries trade with each other on an international scale (Ambrosius). Since its creation, Wilsonianism has a dramatic impact on America’s wars throughout history.

To really understand Wilsonianism and its problems, we must first understand its roots in World War 1 (WW1), and the character of Wilson to understand why he would want to achieve the goals of the policy. There are three main reasons why America fought WW1. The first was the sinking of the Lusitania which was a U.S. ship carrying arms to the British. It was disguised as a passenger ship (Ambrosius). The second is the Zimmermann telegram which was a telegram asking Mexico to join Germany in a fight to overthrow the United States (Ambrosius). The final reason is the Wilsonianist goal of globalization(Ambrosius). This is perfectly summed up in the quote “Wilson [...] believed that nation-states could not exercise their sovereignty or self-determination unless they had access to essential natural resources”(Ambrosius). To achieve this goal, the world must be globalized. America ended up winning the war with gaining very little for the sacrifice, which draws into question if America needed to fight it. To understand this we must learn about Wilson. To begin Wilson undeniably used the war to give himself and his office more power. This is proven by how much he strengthened the role of the federal government over the state government (The Library of Congress). Wilson also once said that “The President is at liberty, both in law and conscience, to be as big a man as he can”(Reinsch II). This means that the President if they wanted, can have unlimited power similar to a dictator. This belief brings about the issue of whether he truly believed in the core values of democracy or was driven by a desire for power. Another hypocrisy is that he also created the Sedition Act of 1918, which jailed anyone who spoke out against the war (The Supreme Court). This was in direct violation of the 1st Amendment. This was one of the rights Wilsonianism was trying to promote. The final problem with Wilson trying to promote those rights was that he was an unbelievable racist even for the 1910s where he praised the Confederates and the Ku Klux Klan and promoted segregation (Little). With such controversial personal beliefs, it calls into question how he could want to promote the rights in the U.S constitution throughout the world. This creates the main question when dealing with Wilsonianism is really for the spread of democracy, or does it have some other intentions? 

The next war we will focus on that Wilsonianism plays a significant factor in is the Cold War. The idea behind the Cold War is almost the definition of Wilsonianism where America was trying to spread democracy across its borders which would lead to globalization, while the United Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR) was trying to promote communism (The University of Luxembourg). This led to the Truman Doctrine which was a doctrine created by the 33rd President Harry S. Truman. The University of Luxembourg best defines the doctrine “the President presented his doctrine of containment, which aimed to provide financial and military aid to the countries threatened by Soviet expansion.” The doctrine abolished the long-standing Monroe doctrine that promoted the idea of American isolationism (Ambrosius). The Truman doctrine is when America embraced the idea of Wilsonianism. The doctrine also leads to many major Cold War wars such as the Vietnam War, Korean War, and the Greek Civil War with also hundreds of minor wars and proxy wars (The University of Luxembourg). Most of these wars are for the expansion of democracy. This leads to the main outcome of the Cold War in which the U.S defeated the USSR and the world finally became globalized (The University of Luxembourg). Also with the fall of the USSR, America became the lone global superpower. This result meant that the goals of Wilsonianism had finally been achieved. America could promote democracy and had access to unlimited natural resources and power.

The final conflict that Wilsonianism has had a massive impact on was the Second Iraq War. On September 11th, 2001, 4 civilian planes were hijacked (Onion, et al.). Two planes crashed into each of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, one flew into the Pentagon, the final was recaptured, and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania (Onion, et al.). The attack was performed by a terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda (Onion, et al.). The entire group was founded by a Saudia Arabian billionaire, Osama bin Laden (Onion, et al.). Knowing this, America decided to invade Iraq. There are 2 main reasons the U.S decided to invade Iraq. The first was it was being ruled by a dictator known as Saddam Hussein (Bassil). America wanted to spread democracy to Iraq (Bassil).  This is why the war was caused by Wilsonianism. The second reason was Iraq was a massive country land-wise which happened to be floating on endless amounts of oil, a natural resource America lacked a source for (Bassil). This is the most obvious example of the U.S using Wilsonianism to gain a natural resource. This brings back the question - is it really for the spread of democracy or natural resources?

Wilsonianism has had a long legacy throughout modern history where it still impacts us today.  It is a foreign policy that is supported by most Americans. Where it is still in use today. Finally, due to our contradicting viewpoints, it will likely cause conflict with Russia or China in the future (Ambar). 

In conclusion, Wilsonianism has a legacy that has caused the world to finally become globalized. Wilsonianism’s legacy is best summed up in this quote “Wilson left an enduring legacy. His transformation of the basic objective of American foreign policy from isolation to internationalism” (Ambar). Wilsonianism has caused many wars, including the U.S involvement in WW1, the Cold War, and the Second Iraq War. It has also had a lasting legacy where it globalized the world and ended American isolationism.  Wilsonianism is still impacting us today. Finally, the fact is whether you support Wilsonianism or you do not, it is fact that Wilsonianism has changed history.