[ZNPaaneah]

I think Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson illustrate much of what we see.

Teddy Roosevelt was someone who promoted "manly" ventures like war, and had a big impact on building up the US navy. He wanted us to be an imperial power and was involved in our getting the Philippines as a US territory. Some complained of his heavy handed way in which he built the Panama Canal.

Woodrow Wilson, by contrast wanted to keep us out of WW1, he was the one who wanted the league of nations, he had a 14 point peace plan that was much less punitive than the Peace plan forced on Germany. Woodrow Wilson is very similar to many liberal elites, top education, pacifists, etc.

However, Teddy Roosevelt was far more effective as a peace maker than Woodrow Wilson and I think it can be argued that WWII can in large part be blamed on the peace treaty and that failure should certainly be credited to Woodrow Wilson. His failure was this: when he agreed to enter into the war as an ally to Britain and France he should have made a covenant with them about how the peace would be made. That was when he had maximum leverage because if we didn't enter they would very likely lose. But his lack of experience of fighting meant he didn't understand the whole process. He didn't realize that the minute the US entered the balance was changed so greatly that the outcome could easily be predicted. His whole reason for entering was a good peace treaty, that was his end game. But he didn't understand bullies and didn't understand the inclination of Britain and France to bully Germany, especially since they knew they couldn't have won without the US, since that wasn't a guarantee they needed to tip the balance in their favor. In contrast Teddy Roosevelt had been bullied as a kid, transformed himself, and went after bullies for the rest of his life. He fully understood the process, how it would play out, and how to get to the end game.