In Search of Woodrow Wilson: Beliefs and Behavior.(Review)

In Search of Woodrow Wilson: Beliefs and Behavior, by Robert M. Saunders. Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood Press, 1998. viii, 273 pp. $59.95 U. S.

Not having been exposed to the race, class, and gender enthusiasms of the modern historical profession, Woodrow Wilson concluded that historians in his day had become "desperately dull fellows." Robert Saunders does not fit Wilson's description; useful insights are provided on women and blacks but there is less commentary on labour relations. Like much of the earlier work on Wilsonianism, the book focuses on foreign policy issues: American entry into the First World War, wartime strategy and politics, and the forging of the peace. The central objective is to examine Wilson's pursuit of power and implementation of policy, and how the President resolved this with "higher" …