Episode 11: Woodrow Wilson Part I

The Past, the Promise, the Presidency

Today’s episode is all about Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States and arguably the most consequential. Note, I did not say one of the greats. They aren’t holding a spot on Mt. Rushmore for him. Certainly not lately, as the national reckoning over race during 2020 has landed hard on Wilson, whose reputation has been sullied by the widespread realization that he might just vie for the unenviable title of most racist president of all. That’s a hard list to evaluate, especially given that numerous antebellum presidents owned people of other races, but as our friend Jon Meacham said in an earlier episode when discussing Andrew Johnson, if you are in the discussion for most racist president ever, well that’s a list you’d rather not be on.

Wilson has not fared particularly well as our country rethinks its racial past, and has featured prominently in our national discussion about how to live with the harsh truths of the past in our own present day. There is so much to discuss about this fascinating man.

Today we are learning from two brilliant scholars, Dr. Paul Behringer and Dr. Adriane Lentz-Smith, about this complicated man and presidency. Together our scholars illuminated two points:

• First, that one can’t just look at American racial policy, and Wilson in particular, in black-white term—Wilson’s presidency invites us to consider questions of race in India, Africa, China, Japan and beyond;
• And second, that yes you can, at least in so far as the U.S. Army’s attitudes and policies were designed to wage and win a war for democracy yes, but precisely, for whom?

Visit pastpromisepresidency.com to read more about Wilson, learn about our guest experts, and more!