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Recurring throughout our history are the ideas that repressive governments are doomed to failure; that liberty is a motivating force; that freedom comes with responsibilities and must be guided by principles; that the example of our democracy is a challenge to all forms of political repression and an inspiration to those desiring to be free. Wilson and Truman took these ideas as the starting point for their policy formulation and pronouncements. Truman both acknowledged his indebtedness to Wilson and learned from his mistakes. This study places the two presidents within the broader American tradition and explores the way they combined reverence for the past with innovative policies.
Pierce provides a cohesive argument against those who simplify and categorize American ideals in order to demean them. Her findings show that the assumption that Wilson was an idealist while Truman was a realist distorts our understanding of these men and denies the seriousness of their positions. She reveals Truman's brilliance as a foreign policy strategist and his fervency as a spokesperson for American ideals. He was never willing to dispense with geopolitics for the sake of internationalism, nor with internationalism for the sake of geopolitics, but insisted that our mission and our power were combined threads in our work for freedom. Truman's wisely construed version of Wilsonianism, which itself was an interpretation of America's mission and power, holds great promise for the United States today.
List of contents
Introduction
Woodrow WilsonThe Invigoration of Principles and the Assertion of Power: A New President Takes Charge
Passive in Arms But Active in Words: The American Neutral as Teacher and Redeemer
American Principles on Trial: Words Accompany Arms to the Battlefront
The Expansion of Democratic War Aims: Self-Determination and the Disintegration of Empires
The Bittersweet Legacy of Ideas: Wilson Leaves an Indelible Mark
Harry TrumanThe Lessons of Two World Wars: Truman Emends and Enhances the Internationalist Tradition
Containment with a Wilsonian Twist: Power-Politics and the Democratic Mission Rendered Compatible
The Problematic Moralism of United States Foreign Policy: Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia
The Increasing Disparity Between Long-Term Hopes and Short-Term Goals: NSC-68, NATO, and Point Four
The Ongoing Importance of Wilson's and Truman's Views and Achievements Regarding the Mission and Power of the United States
Index
About the author
Anne Pierce
