Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman Mission and Power in American Foreign Policy

Subjects:

• Political Science » International Relations
• History » American Diplomatic History
• Political Science » Presidential Studies

Reviews:

• This is a good book.
  —Political Science Quarterly Winter 2003-2004

• Endorsement From Frank Ninkovich
  St. Johns University: The historical legacy of Woodrow Wilson has been the subject of considerable controversy. In this stimulating new work of historical interpretation, Anne Pierce shows convincingly that Wilsonian principles were an essential ingredient of America's Cold War foreign policy. It can never be said with certainty that Wilson would have been a cold warrior had he lived, but, thanks to this book, it is now clear that his ideas were unmistakably present in the outlook of Harry Truman. . . . By arguing powerfully that the Cold War cannot be comprehended in terms of realism or idealism alone, Pierce significantly enlarges our understanding of the role of realism and idealism in 20th century U.S. foreign relations.
• Endorsement From Akira Iriye
  Harvard University: Useful to those who would like to have more than a superficial understanding of the evolution of 20th century foreign affairs.
• Endorsement From Dorothy V. Jones
  Scholar-in-Residence, The Newberry Library: This richly detailed study of Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman is much more than a comparison of the foreign policies of the two presidents. It is, as well, a sensitive exploration of the tensions between America's understanding of its unique mission in the world, and the effects of the power that has been used to sustain and project that mission. Anne Pierce enriches our understanding of the past, and at the same time shows how a careful balancing of the requirements of mission and power has relevance for the present.
• Endorsement From Bradford Wilson
  National Association of Scholars
  Princeton University: At last, a careful and illuminating analysis of Truman's debt to and improvement on the internationalist foreign policy of Woodrow Wilson. Grounded in a respect for American principles, faithful to the historical record, and open to the possibility that Wilson and Truman have something important to teach us, Pierce's book is a model of responsible scholarship. A remarkable achievement.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Woodrow Wilson
• The 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 Truman
• The 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