ww2

Woodrow Wilson, a Southern sympathizer, perpetuated systematic racism during his presidency and set back civil rights progress. He promoted the Confederate Klansmen, screened the film "The Birth of a Nation" at the White House, and allowed segregation in various government agencies. Wilson also involved America in World War I, favoring the Entente but wanting to benefit economically while staying neutral. His 14 points for peace disregarded other nations' perspectives. The League of Nations, his precursor to the UN, had flaws in its voting structure and lacked inclusivity. Wilson's presidency was marked by failures in racial equality, foreign diplomacy, and economic justice. It is important to learn from his mistakes for a better future. So being that Woodrow Wilson was raised in Augusta, Georgia, it was obvious that he would live through the Civil War, and he was a Southern sympathizer. Wilson would later write that Reconstruction placed Southern white men under, quote, the intolerable burden of government sustained by the votes of ignorant Negroes, end quote. He also would describe the Klan as the invisible empire of the South, bound together in loose organization to protect the Southern company from some of the ugliest hazards of a time of revolution. White historians like Wilson helped popularize the Confederate Klansmen who became the heroes of D.W. Griffith's 1915 film, The Birth of a Nation. The movie's villains were black Americans portrayed by white actors in blackface. Wilson agreed to screen the film, which quoted his own book and its title cards, at the White House. The blockbuster's popularity led white men to re-found the KKK, which flourished across the country in the 1920s. Wilson played an active role in promoting the ideology that led to this revival. Wilson's actions not only perpetrated systematic racism, but also set back the progress of civil rights in America for decades to come. During Wilson's presidency, he allowed his cabinet to segregate the Treasury, the Post Office, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Navy, the Interior, the Marine Hospital, the War Department, and Government Printing Office. This meant creating separate offices, lunchrooms, bathrooms, and other facilities for white and black workers. It also meant dismissing black supervisors, cutting off black employees' access to promotions and better-paying jobs, and reserving those jobs instead for white Americans. I wouldn't say that he paved the way for Jim Crow laws, because Jim Crow laws were starting to set effect much earlier than Woodrow Wilson came into office, but I would say that he sort of made it mainstream. As a president, you know it's sort of your job to say what your nation is about, and when you are pushing forward your hard-line racial beliefs, it is obviously going to play a massive part into what is mainstream acceptable. So that is why I believe, personally, now you can agree with me and disagree with me, it doesn't really hurt my feelings, I promise. I believe, personally, that he really did accelerate the motion of getting these laws into federal, like, set-in-stone laws. Now, it's time to talk about World War I. Previously saying that he would not get America involved into World War I, he would remain completely neutral, he did quite the contrary. Now, as an American, you're typically told America joined the war because of the sinking of the Lusitania. What you're not often told is that the Lusitania, when it was sunk, was carrying war supplies, but kept it secret because it would aid the British. Woodrow Wilson very blatantly made it clear that he chose a side. He wanted the Entente to win, he wanted the British to beat the Germans, but he wanted to reap the economic gains from it while staying completely neutral. It eventually got to a point where there was so much American pressure to join the war that he had to join the war. Now let's get into everyone's favorite part, Wilson's 14 points. I'm sure you had to study this in high school like I did 4,000 times, but we're going to get into the problems with his 14 points. His 14 points did not take into account what other nations thought. He sort of saw himself as a Jesus figure, in a way. He thought that what he said was right, what you said was wrong, it doesn't matter what you think, he is right. Despite not knowing much about Europeans and how they work and how countries and nations affect their foreign policy, David Lloyd George, when asked about how the peace conferences had gone in 1919, he responded with, not badly considering I was seated between Jesus Christ, Woodrow Wilson, and Napoleon. Referring to Georges, I'm not even going to try to pronounce it. This sort of dives into the main point as Woodrow Wilson didn't really understand the Europeans' ambitions. He didn't understand France's ambitions, the UK's ambitions. We're talking Belgium, like all the entente, all their ambitions, he's not really understanding it. His 14 points, while in theory, yes, are perfect, they're great and they would work in a perfect world, just like communism. In a perfect world, communism is the number one form of government. But, in the nature of man, communism can't work. Just like the 14 points, there will always be something that will stop all 14 of those points from working. There will always be a European nation that will say, hey, this is going to work for us, or etc. So Woodrow Wilson had the idea of creating the League of Nations, which is essentially, if you think about it at its core, a precursor to the UN, except the UN works a hell of a lot smoother. So, the League of Nations, its biggest problem was its voting structure, and it didn't really represent a lot of world nations. It just represented the main few that agreed with the League of Nations. So, at its core, it's very weak, it's not very inclusive, and it makes it incredibly difficult to pass for voting, for resolutions, and etc. So, in conclusion, while Woodrow Wilson is oftentimes remembered for his idealism and his vision, his presidency was marked by failures in racial equality, foreign diplomacy, and economic justice. It's essential to critically examine his legacy and learn from the mistakes of the past to build a better future. Thank you all for taking the time to view the entire video. I really do appreciate your support. If you could leave a like, and also comment. I really do want to make this, my channel, a little community where we can talk about history, but be constructive at the same time. I will be going through the comments, so as long as everyone is, you know, playing nice, we're not cussing each other out, we're having genuine historical conversations, it is fair game. I'd love to see it. I'll personally be replying to some of them. So, I really do appreciate you guys for watching the video, and I hope to see you all in the next one.