Book Review: The Moralist-Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made by Patricia O'Toole
The life and Presidency of Woodrow Wilson has been the subject of a number of very thorough and well-considered scholarly biographies in recent times, with the most notable probably being those by John Milton Cooper Jr in 2009 and Scott Berg in 2013. Patricia O'Toole continues this pattern with her 2018 work The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made. It is an outstanding account of the life and presidential activity of the 28th President of the United States that is well-researched and deeply and brilliantly analytical. The book draws from a number of contemporary historical sources including the diaries and autobiographies of many of the key players in the Wilson administration, in Wilsonian Washington, on the world stage and in Wilson's very small and close-knit inner circle.
The author presents a picture of a Chief Executive who was so thoroughly convinced of the rightness of his own decisions and world view to the exclusion of everyone else, save for those whose advice matched what Wilson was thinking. At times this was an asset, but more often this was a great hindrance, especially near the end of Wilson's presidency, when his judgement was severely impaired by the of a series of strokes. As the author points out, his stubbornness and insistence that his was the only opinion that mattered likely denied Wilson his biggest prizes, ratification of the Treaty of Versailles and American membership into the League of Nations.
O'Toole portrays Wilson as a "moralist", a leader driven by a rigid if imperfect moral compass. Any notion that the author intends to serve as apologist for Wilson's more offensive policies and positions is quickly dispelled. She is quick to expose Wilson's moral shortcomings that are apparent in his racist civil service segregation policies and his curtailment of free speech, especially speech critical of the president. The author is exceptionally fair in her criticisms of her subject, letting Wilson's actions speak for themselves. Wilson's posing as a champion of democracy, while shutting out all opinions but his own, his thin skin and refusal to consider points of view that conflict with his own, and his surrounding himself with advisors who would not challenge him, show the hypocrisy and contradiction that Wilson was made of. The point is clearly illustrated as Wilson sacrificed the interests of smaller nations during treaty negotiations because doing so was an expedient means to getting his way. O'Toole cleverly finds many elegant and eloquent ways of describing Wilson's petulance.
The author concludes with an excellent analysis of how Wilson's foreign policy goals may have been well-intentioned, especially when viewed in hindsight. It was Wilson's egocentric personality, exacerbated by the effects of his stroke, which made Wilson a flawed moralist. This is an excellent work, both for its insightful look at Wilson himself and for its big picture analysis of how subsequent US foreign policy was shaped by Wilson and how it has effected the world today. Even at 493 pages, it holds the reader's interest without sacrificing any of its historical integrity or analytical brilliance.
The author presents a picture of a Chief Executive who was so thoroughly convinced of the rightness of his own decisions and world view to the exclusion of everyone else, save for those whose advice matched what Wilson was thinking. At times this was an asset, but more often this was a great hindrance, especially near the end of Wilson's presidency, when his judgement was severely impaired by the of a series of strokes. As the author points out, his stubbornness and insistence that his was the only opinion that mattered likely denied Wilson his biggest prizes, ratification of the Treaty of Versailles and American membership into the League of Nations.
O'Toole portrays Wilson as a "moralist", a leader driven by a rigid if imperfect moral compass. Any notion that the author intends to serve as apologist for Wilson's more offensive policies and positions is quickly dispelled. She is quick to expose Wilson's moral shortcomings that are apparent in his racist civil service segregation policies and his curtailment of free speech, especially speech critical of the president. The author is exceptionally fair in her criticisms of her subject, letting Wilson's actions speak for themselves. Wilson's posing as a champion of democracy, while shutting out all opinions but his own, his thin skin and refusal to consider points of view that conflict with his own, and his surrounding himself with advisors who would not challenge him, show the hypocrisy and contradiction that Wilson was made of. The point is clearly illustrated as Wilson sacrificed the interests of smaller nations during treaty negotiations because doing so was an expedient means to getting his way. O'Toole cleverly finds many elegant and eloquent ways of describing Wilson's petulance.
The author concludes with an excellent analysis of how Wilson's foreign policy goals may have been well-intentioned, especially when viewed in hindsight. It was Wilson's egocentric personality, exacerbated by the effects of his stroke, which made Wilson a flawed moralist. This is an excellent work, both for its insightful look at Wilson himself and for its big picture analysis of how subsequent US foreign policy was shaped by Wilson and how it has effected the world today. Even at 493 pages, it holds the reader's interest without sacrificing any of its historical integrity or analytical brilliance.