Woodrow Wilson's Wars: The Making of America's First Modern Commander-in-Chief

by Mark Benbow

Overview

Woodrow Wilson's presidential administration (1913-1921) was marked not only by America's participation in World War I, but also by numerous armed interventions by the United States in other countries. Spanning the globe, these actions included the years-long occupations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, a border war with Mexico, and the use of Marines guarding American citizens during unrest in Chinese cities. Author Mark Benbow examines what these American policy decisions and military adventures reveal of Wilson as commander-in-chief, and the powers and duties of the office. Wilson tended to let his cabinet officials operate their own departments as they wished as long as their actions did not contradict his overall policies. However, as regards foreign policy, Wilson took an active role overseeing American diplomats. His policy toward the military followed a similar pattern, though sometimes military commanders' actions. affected Wilson's diplomatic goals. Benbow focuses on those conflicts between military reality, the pragmatic needs of policy, and the larger goals of crafting a lasting foreign policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682478301
Publisher:	Naval Institute Press
Publication date:	10/15/2022
Series:	President as Commander in Chief
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr. Mark E. Benbow is associate professor of American History at Marymount University. He earned his PhD from Ohio University. Previously he worked for the federal government and as Historian at the Woodrow Wilson House Museum in Washington, DC. Benbow also serves as the director of the Arlington Historical Museum in Arlington, Virginia. 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Wilson Views the Presidency Writings and Advisers 8

Chapter 2 The World in 1912 40

Chapter 3 Veracruz 57

Chapter 4 Haiti and the Dominican Republic 76

Chapter 5 The Border War 97

Chapter 6 World War I 130

Chapter 7 Russian Intervention 165

Chapter 8 Occupation Duty and Smaller Interventions 193

Conclusion 231

Notes 239

Bibliography 271

Index 289

Editorial Reviews

In this most outstanding study of Woodrow Wilson as commander-in-chief, Mark Benbow examines the mixed record of the president's many military interventions.  These were characterized by his close supervision of diplomatic goals but not of military strategy and by his inadequate military planning and preparations, notably during World War I.” —Lloyd E. Ambrosius, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and author of Woodrow Wilson and American Internationalism

“Woodrow Wilson was the first U.S. president to oversee the nation's participation in an overseas war, and the precedents he set have influenced every Commander-in-Chief since. Thanks to Mark Benbow, we now have a comprehensive study of Wilson's pattern-setting relationship with the U.S. military, which began to take shape long before Congress declared war on Germany in April 1917.” —Trygve Throntveit, author of Power without Victory: Woodrow Wilson and the American Internationalist Experiment

“Mark Benbow has done an excellent job of telling the story and analyzing the many elements that contributed to Woodrow Wilson's performance as commander-in-chief. He is even handed and insightful in viewing the fumbles, foibles, and feats of Wilson's on-the-job education as this commander. Despite everything that went wrong, Wilson won America's first big overseas war, and Benbow gives credit where it is due.” — John Milton Cooper, Jr., professor emeritus of history, University of Wisconsin-Madison, author of Woodrow Wilson:  A Biography

From the Publisher