In September 1919, President Woodrow Wilson embarked on an extraordinary journey: a 10,000-mile speaking tour of the American West to argue for Senate ratification of the Treaty of Paris and the League of Nations. It was, Wilson said, his opportunity to meet the American people "eye to eye and face to face."
In the aftermath of the Great War (now known as World War I), Americans were eager to return to their communities, businesses, farms, and families. Most tended to support U.S. involvement in a global body to prevent war. The question was whether Wilson's vision was right or needed adjustment.
Wilson's speeches offer an extraordinary glimpse into the debate over the League of Nations–and Wilson's skills and shortcomings as a leader. As he explores postwar America, Wilson searches for the right way to express his vision and to answer both hard-line and isolationist critics.
With an introduction by Charles Euchner, Eye to Eye and Face to Face offers complete texts of Wilson's historic mission to persuade Americans to embrace his vision for a postwar order.
