In the not-too-distant past, historians
generally agreed that Woodrow Wilson deserved to be ranked among the greatest
of American presidents. In the last two
decades, however, Wilson’s stature has fallen due in large part to his poor
record on civil rights and his violations of civil liberties during World War
I. In Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer A. Scott Berg attempts to
shore up Wilson’s legacy, stressing his progressive policies and his persistent
efforts to bring peace to Europe after the outbreak of war.
Berg presents Wilson as a hard-working
reformer who accomplished much despite being plagued with headaches, terrible
eyesight and intestinal problems (among other ailments) all his life. During his academic career, Wilson sought to
advance scholarship in history and political science. As president of Princeton University, he
attempted to change his beloved alma mater from a social club for sons of the
rich into a modern university, an effort that largely failed due to entrenched
opposition. As governor of New Jersey
and as President of the United States, Wilson pursued a progressive agenda,
including women’s suffrage (even though he initially opposed the 19th
Amendment). After nearly three years of
keeping the U. S. out of World War I, Wilson finally decided to intervene so
that the world might “be made safe for democracy.” And as his final act of significance, Wilson
poured his life into trying to persuade Americans to join the League of
Nations, ultimately failing and irrevocably ruining his health in the process.
Despite his obvious adoration of his
subject, Berg does not hesitate to highlight Wilson’s flaws or criticize him
when he feels he did wrong. Berg shows that Wilson, despite being a genuinely
decent human being, nevertheless possessed a monumental ego that often blinded
him to reality. Notable examples of
Wilson’s actions that draw Berg’s criticism are his decision to segregate the
capital, his abridgements of civil rights during World War I, and his treatment
of influential socialist Eugene V. Debs. Berg is especially critical of Wilson
for not transferring power to his vice president after his debilitating stroke
that left him unable to fulfill his duties.
Berg also scolds Wilson’s wife Edith and his inner circle of advisers, who
carried out “the greatest conspiracy that ever engulfed the White House” (644)
and who
took the law of the land into their own hands, concluding what best served Woodrow Wilson also best served the country. Their behavior tacitly acknowledged that this was a power grab, as they enshrouded the Presidency in as much secrecy as possible (644).Wilson is a very well-written, engaging, and comprehensive biography of our twenty-eighth president. The work is made even better by a generous assortment of photos that help the reader put faces with the many persons included in the narrative. One especially creative aspect of the book is Berg’s decision to use Christian themes such as “Ascension”, “Baptism,” and “Resurrection for the chapter titles and to couple them with Scripture quotations that apply to the events described in the chapters. This practice is not only original and effective; it is also highly appropriate given Wilson’s deep and lifelong Christian faith. At 746 pages of text, Wilson will prove a daunting challenge to many readers, but those who persevere will be greatly rewarded with an enriching portrait of Woodrow Wilson and the times in which he lived.
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