Presented soave complex a character. We are polled periodically to rate the president s. Wilson receives a high rating. A that embraces only lincoln, select company that embraces only lincoln, washington and franklin d. Roosevelt, in addition sometimes to Woodrow Wilson. There have been dissenters, of course. A writer that claimed wilson was not one of the world men, but a great fiasco. Among those who rate him highly, there is almost nothing of the sense of admiration so often associated with the attitude displayed to other socalled greats. Wilsons greatness seems to come grudgingly. An acknowledgment of his accomplishments without an appreciation of his personal attributes. In attempting to assess this extraordinarily complex individual by placing it threefold, first to survey his early years to gain an understanding of his philosophy. Second, to examine the significant events of his presidency, especially in the controversial area of diplomacy. Third to discuss briefly some of , the
Of the character of our political system and its volatility. Scarcely more than one third of our chief executives, beginning in the 18th century, have been elected to a second term for one reason or another. Eight have died in office. Four have been assassination. Five have been elected without popular majorities. Three have been impeached, two of those in the lifetime of many people with us here today. Of all of those numbers, the one i want to of the size most, is the number one. By that i mean that the president is simply one of the 536 elected officials in washington, d. C. Strictly speaking, it is 537, 535 members of congress, and the im treating the president and Vice President for this purpose as a single entity. So the president is one of 536 elected officials. When i reflect on that asymmetry between the one president and 536 other federal elected officials, im reminded of a quip by the journalist theodore white, who wrote several books on president ial elections beginning in
We are pulled periodically polled periodically to rate the president s. Wilson receives a high rating. A select country that embraces only lincoln, washington and franklin d. Roosevelt, in addition sometimes to Woodrow Wilson. Claimed wilsont was not one of the world men, but a great fiasco. Highly,ose who rate him there is almost nothing of the sense of admiration so often associated with the attitude displayed to other socalled grades. Wilsons greatness seems to come grudgingly. An acknowledgment of his accomplishments without an appreciation of his personal attributes. Thistempting to assess extraordinary complex individual by placing it threefold, first to survey his earlier its in an effort early years to gain an understanding of his philosophy. Second, to examine the significant events of his presidency, especially in the controversial area of diplomacy. And to discuss briefly some of the changing historical evaluations of his presidency. Wilson, Thomas Woodrow wilson, or tawny w
Inspired more controversy among subsequent historians. Fewer still have ever presented so complex a character. Way historians are we are,as periodically to rate the president s, wilson invariably receives a high ranking, often within the pantheon of great president s. A select country that embraces usually only lincoln, washington and franklin d. Roosevelt, in addition sometimes to Woodrow Wilson. There have been dissenters of course, such as a writer that claimed wilson was not one of the worlds greatest men, but a great fiasco. Among those who rate him highly, there is almost nothing of the sense of admiration so often associated with the attitude displayed to other socalled greats. With wilson, this granting of greatness seems to have come grudgingly. An acknowledgment of his accomplishments without an appreciation of his personal attributes. In attempting to assess this extraordinary complex individual by survey his early years to first, gain an understanding of his personality, mo
Which is some kind of a rudimentary indicator of the character of our political system and its volatility. Scarcely more than one third of our chief executives, beginning in the 18th century, have been elected to a second term for one reason or another. Eight have died in office. Four have been assassinated. Five have been elected without popular majorities. Three have been impeached, two of those in the lifetime of many people with us here today. Of all of those numbers, the one i want to emphasize the most is simply the number one. By that i mean that the president is simply one of the 536 elected officials in washington, d. C. Strictly speaking, it is 537, 535 members of congress, and im treating the president and Vice President for this purpose as a single political entity. So the president is one of 536 elected officials. When i reflect on that asymmetry between the one president and 535 other federal elected officials, im reminded of a quip by the journalist theodore white, who w