Woodrow Wilson is best known for his service as the twenty-eighth president of the United States and his influence on American foreign policy in the twentieth century and beyond. Yet Wilson is equally important for his influence on how Americans think about their Constitution and principles of government.
Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism highlights Wilson's sharp departure from the traditional principles of American government, most notably the Constitution. Ronald J. Pestritto persuasively argues that Wilson's unfailing criticism places him clearly in line with the Progressives' assault on the original principles of American constitutionalism. Drawing primarily from early writings and speeches that Wilson made during his years as a scholar, Pestritto examines the future president's clear and consistent ideologies that laid the foundation for later actions taken as a public leader.
Engaging and thought-provoking, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism gets to the heart of Wilson's political ideologies and brings a fresh perspective to the study of American political development.
Ronald J. Pestritto is Charles and Lucia Shipley Chair in the American Constitution at Hillsdale College and a research fellow at the Claremont Institute.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Wilson, the Founding, and Historical Thinking Chapter 1: Historicism and Wilson's Critique of the Social Compact Chapter 2: The Modern Democratic State and the New Political Science Chapter 3: Beyond the Separation of Powers: The New Constitutionalism and the Growth of the American National State Chapter 4: Congress as Parliament? Chapter 5: The Presidency, the Parties, and the Judiciary Chapter 6: Who Governs? Wilson's Leadership Doctrine and the Question of Democracy Chapter 7: Wilson's Science of Administration Conclusion: 1912 and Beyond
