"A New Slavery of Caste": An Evaluation of President Woodrow Wilson with Regard to Race

File(s)
Date
2017-05-12Author
Depew, Jennifer
Advisor(s)
Siemers, David
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The presidency of Woodrow Wilson has been traditionally considered successful
due to his administration’s progressive legislation and leadership during World War I.
Recently, his positive reputation has been challenged on the grounds of his racist views.
This paper argues that these challenges are legitimate by first establishing criteria for
evaluating presidents based on constitutional rights and values, and then by examining
the Wilson administration’s relationships to two race-based crises: the segregation
of the civil service and mob violence. Wilson’s bigotry led him to consistently make
decisions that negatively impacted the lives and livelihoods of millions of African
Americans. His unwillingness to uphold the individual rights and equal protections
promised to all Americans, regardless of race, represents a fundamental failure of
his presidential duty. Failures like these should weigh heavily in any meaningful
evaluation of presidential success.
Subject
United States Presidents
African Americans
Civil rights
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/76465Type
Article