The Do-Gooder
A review by David Greenberg
The Mexican Revolution was not Woodrow Wilson's finest hour. After a coup in 1913, Wilson tried and failed to make common cause with the so-called constitutional rebel leader, Venustiano Carranza. The President then exploited a minor incident and seized the Caribbean port of Veracruz, without gaining Congressional authorization first or political advantage later. When the able but treacherous Pancho Villa then turned on Carranza, Wilson foolishly supported the schismatic rebel, who went on to murder a slew of Americans, provoking a second intervention. Ultimately Wilson recognized a new government led by Carranza, whom he had previously tried to sideline. An equally damning portrait can be sketched of Wilson's management of European affairs. When the guns of August began to thunder in 1914, Wilson promoted an untenable stance of strict neutrality while failing to gird the country for war. After America joined the conflict, the Wilson administration turned repressive at home...
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