[War & Business] The Two Faces of Woodrow Wilson

[Image source= Website of the U.S. Embassy in Korea]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] On January 22, 1917, then U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, in a joint session of Congress, spoke about Europe, where World War I was in full swing, emphasizing that the United States must never participate in this war. President Wilson insisted on the need for a "peace without victory," arguing that "peace won by defeating the enemy is not eternal peace but merely a house of cards," and stressed the importance of avoiding war as much as possible.

Within the United States, public opinion was sharply divided over this statement. American media were quick to criticize it as a "Don Quixote-like idea," dismissing it as mere fantasy. Criticism poured in that it was unrealistic given that the entire world was engulfed in war. Despite these criticisms, President Wilson, who had made "anti-war" a key theme throughout his political career, tried to push forward with his beliefs.

Earlier, in May 1915, when the British passenger ship Lusitania sank due to Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare, killing 128 American citizens aboard, President Wilson emphasized peace and worked hard to suppress the angry public opinion in the U.S. Although Germany offered only a compensation agreement for the loss of life without a proper apology, Wilson quickly accepted it to settle the matter. The political backlash from this incident caused Wilson's popularity to plummet, nearly costing him the 1916 re-election.

However, his conviction for peace was shattered just a month after announcing the peace without victory. On February 24, 1917, the so-called "Zimmermann Telegram" was revealed, in which Arthur Zimmermann, then German Foreign Minister, promised the Mexican government that if Mexico attacked the United States from the rear, Germany would return lost territories such as California and Texas. This completely undermined the anti-war peace movement within the U.S.

President Wilson was not a man willing to give up power for his beliefs. He quickly transformed into a ruthless militarist and declared war on Germany in April 1917. Over two million young men were drafted nationwide and sent to Europe, and all groups conducting anti-war peace movements and labor movements within the U.S. faced government repression. During this process, he even allied with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), known as an extremist white supremacist group. His political beliefs were completely reversed as if flipping a hand.

The fact that the United States did not join the League of Nations, which was established largely through his advocacy before and after World War I, was significantly influenced by the worsening public opinion in the U.S. regarding his contradictory actions. Wilson himself received the Nobel Peace Prize for the establishment of the League of Nations, and his call for "self-determination of peoples" is included in textbooks worldwide. However, in the United States, he is still remembered as a two-faced president.