Champion for Democracy? - Woodrow Wilson I WHO DID WHAT IN WW1?

[@gillbates7648]

2 things 1. Its sad that Indy had to tell people to keep it civil. 2. Does he expect it to stay civil. This is Modern War

[@dndboy13]

users comment in the comments section. thousands of people die this is modern war

[@hankrearden20]

"Please keep it civil." Famous last words.

[@tiggergolah]

Exactly. Civil? This is modern war.

[@adamhoward5444]

Lmao

[@SonOfAGunYYH]

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here; this is the war room!"

[@margretfortune1524]

Dr. Strangelove ?

[@aaronreid9585]

LJStudio Nice SAO abridged reference haha

[@Thedemonologists]

He caused more long term problems than he solved. This became a popular trend among presidents which endures to this day.

[@stuartholden6163]

Definitely

[@Boretheory]

“We’ve boosted the economy threw war in Iraq!” … “ and now our allies and neutral partners hate us which is even worse :D”

[@victorsamuelson3589]

Don’t worry about our allies look at their horrible countries ours is the best 10 times better than this that’s why everyone wants to come here stupid

[@MrMzr-er7kb]

Props to the writer, and Indie, for observing the elephants in the room objectively.

[@GhostofRazors]

Still more elephants and donkeys: No mention of the KKK revival and the screening of Rise of a nation in the white house? He also had a stroke in his second term and his wife took over. "She was, essentially, the nation’s chief executive until her husband’s second term concluded in March of 1921"-www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/woodrow-wilson-stroke/ I am not saying the episode was very thorough (the education topic was good) but its still missing some major points. /constructive criticism.

[@samlevitt1848]

Hey Indy, I enjoyed the video on Wilson, and I understand the constraints of the trying to make an entertaining piece of historical content while not overflowing with content. That being said, I think the larger criticisms that can be made of Wilson are 1. His removal and purging of African Americans from the federal government. 2. His delayed support and even hostility towards Woman's Suffrage in the United States. 3. The legislation that was passed to curb dissent in the United States during the war. I kind of expect that the last point will get coverage in the later episodes. As for the others, I am just going to leave a little discussion about Wilson and his interactions below. While there is a lot of literature about these issues, I think this PBS web page is a good start for looking at his treatment of African Americans in government during his reign in office. Culturally this also included naming army bases after rebel generals, (Fort Brag, Fort A.P. Hill,) and the treatment of African Americans in the Army and their mistreatment after the war. www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_segregation.html memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart7.html books.google.com/books?id=IQN9Xk0p62MC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false As for suffrage, it was not until his reelection campaign that Wilson began to come out in stronger favor for Woman's Suffrage, and only in 1918 that he backed the 18th Amendment. Importantly though, it was the suffrage movement itself that was the largest factor in gaining women the right to vote. For further referece, the book, One Woman, One Vote, a collection of essays on the Suffrage and early Woman's Rights movement and its many facets and divisions is worth a read. By chance, is there a plan to talk about the racial make up of the American army and the segregation and divisions that occurred as the U.S. Army mobilized? Again, thank you for your great work on the show, and keep it up!

[@washizukanorico]

I really appreciate your channel, is there an episode on Pétain? How hard that episode must be to write keeping it about ww1... About Wilson and the segregation in US army I read somewhere US did not plan to use African American battalion as a fighting force but the French army that got command of some of them felt very comfortable sending them to death as every one else. Is that true or a French legend?

[@theroachden6195]

Indy did well, but Wilson loved himself and was a massive racist piece of s***.

[@igetboredeasily224]

I'll shout this from the rooftops - you guys do an incredible job of presenting the facts in a clear, unbiased way, whilst providing a clear story for us all to understand and enjoy. I'm consistently impressed week on week - keep up the good work!

[@mjinnh2112]

We try!

[@overheardatthepub1238]

I really appreciate you defining what "progressivism" meant back then. Defining how terms used today meant back in the day is incredibly important in understanding history. Also, the perspective of how history repeats itself (including how people during the Great War say NEVER HAVE I EVER when it's completely incorrect!) is epic. This kind of completeness is why this channel is important, and not just entertaining.

[@bikinisforever4163]

Liberals of 100 years ago hated Communism. Liberals of today love Communism. Liberals of 100 years ago would absolutely hate the left today. Open borders, high taxes, high crime, who in their right mind would support any of those things?

[@davidhoran7116]

“New Jersey, at that time, was very corrupt” as a jersey resident, can confirm, not much has changed.

[@VersusARCH]

The importance of each and every US (and not just US) president is grossly overblown. Every policy is a product of an entire complex system of a government with countless experts and financial moguls, NOT a single man (even in so called dictatorships). Yet by personifying governments through their heads, not just common people but often histories too, leave a false impressions that it is so.

[@tylerhayward8042]

Well said!

[@imperatorcaesardivifiliusa2158]

After all, no man rules alone.

[@bmazin1377]

VersusARCH that's true but we shouldn't diminish the policies or legislature they personally created even though congress played a role in passing it

[@eccentricthinker142]

But if the bills were so disagreeable to the legislature that they could not pass, then the heads of state would need to remain, a product of their times

[@UpcycleElectronics]

Ultimate responsibility for, versus direct administrative execution, is a blurry line that gains a life of its own with time.

[@konstantindimitrov7]

Here in Bulgaria Wilson is greatly respected and viewed on as the only leader of victorious nation in WWI that remained honest and noble. He has the fame of the only friend Bulgaria had at Neuilly. Currently (2020) there is a strong campaign for naming a street after Woodrow Wilson here in Sofia.

[@bikinisforever4163]

He campaigned to keep the US out of war, then, once he won, forgot about his promises and brought us in, despite us not being provoked. Why would you celebrate that? 100k US troops lost their lives because of him.

[@redjirachi1]

Always interesting to see a world leader have more of a fanbase from a foreign country

[@ethanreighley1336]

You should do Teddy Roosevelt. You forget that presidents don't just stop existing when their term is up. Amassed a volunteer force to go to France in 1917.....Wilson said no :(

[@josephmoore4764]

He was a politcal rival. Wilson wasn't going to just let him get the free PR

[@ethanreighley1336]

@@josephmoore4764 Have you ever heard of the cynical historian KZbin channel. He has a 2 part video on Wilson. He's probably the worst president in America's history.

[@The51stDivision]

"No campaign in the history of this country has been so marked by viciousness, bitterness, and invective." ...lol I beg your pardon.

[@wesleytoups1161]

and bested yet again!!!

[@mmjahink]

@@wesleytoups1161 And there's no reason to think 2024 won't be worse

[@jamier65551]

2020 was worse

[@whatclub3934]

You aint seen nothin yet son!! I’m scared of 2024

[@gcircle]

"Please keep it civil." This channel's regulars are mostly civil, but this is the internet. That is a dangerous request XD

[@woodchuck003]

Wilson did believe that Birth of a Nation was so historically accurate that he put his name on it.

[@Archon3960]

Yeah, possibly the worst move he ever made... :/

[@bensmall7070]

Actually he later called the movie mistake and regretted having anything to do with it. Still kinda stupid move from his side.

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

​@@bensmall7070 I forgot, what year did he say that?

[@chuckwingo11]

Trying hard to be civil - Wilson was perhaps the first American President who didn’t believe in the American system of divided government and limited powers. Read his writings from the Princeton era and you’ll find more than faint hints of his belief in what was later call the “Fuerher Prinncip”, that the President should be, and act as, an elected monarch. I have to agree that some of his domestic policies were, for the era, proper; but his anti-free speech policies during the war, his overt racism (in the real, not modern meaning of the word) and especially his utter inability to understand that American government was structured to be collegial doomed his presidency to the lower ranks of American presidents.

[@cpob2013]

in other words, the imperial presidency FDR crafted (out of necessity to be fair, but then so did Caesar) and has continued ever since

[@MarekDohojda]

It is very much questionable if FDR had any necessity beyond protecting his failed economical ideology.

[@jesseteixeira6284]

Failed? Care to back that up?

[@MarekDohojda]

You mean 12 years of the Great Depression isn't proof enough? Let's see, double digit unemployment, reduction in salaries and purchasing power, slagging to no economical growth, etc... Not sure what you call failed, but I call worst economical period in US history as failed. And no don't come back with "it would have been worse" as that is a silly argument without any bases in logic or facts.

[@icecoldmeat4046]

Marek Dohojda the Great Depression started under Hoover, that just a historical fact. The Great Depression happened because of Americans spending too much on their credit card basically.

[@damianamusic]

Indy, never commented on your videos before but it was such a cool fact to know that you went to Wesleyan as well!! I'm currently a student there now and I've shared your videos with other students interested in WW1 but now I can tell them you went here too!

[@TheGreatWar]

+puffyhead1 we need an indy neidell shrine there

[@monophthalmos9633]

Churchill rightly said, that without the US entering the war, it would have ended in 1917 as a draw. Woodrow Wilson's decision to enter the war prolonged it for a year. And it was him, who told the Germans, that if they got rid of the Kaiser, they woudl get a better peace deal. The result was chaos in Germany, which led to the implosion of our negotiating position, which led to the treaty of Versailles. The world would have been a better place, if Woodrow Wilson never decided to enter a war, which never touched American interests.

[@arthur131313]

History has continued to more and more look down on him.

+Edward Longshanks Of England, Duke of Aquatine It always has been. Hegemonic periods are relatively peaceful globally, and the country that has the hegemony is doing quite well. The Dutch hegemony allowed them to break the stranglehold that catholicism had on Europe. This in turn started (glorious revolution) the British two cycles of hegemony during which slavery disappeared from most of the globe. That could never have happened if the British Royal Navy hadn't been so powerful as to establish a hegemony, which allowed Britain to attack slavers wherever they were found. A weaker non-hegemonic country would've been threatened into tolerating the slavers by their respective governments declaring freeing slaves to be an act of war.

[@XXGDUBSXX]

Who is History?

[@arthur131313]

Husband of Herstory

[@TheRealUcanUwill]

@Billy Buckley is he really truth? He was anti antisemitism, and antisemitism was very conservative and popular in those times. I feel like his love for KKK is mostly made up by characters like Dinesh De Sousa, but I might be wrong.

[@billybuckley684]

@@TheRealUcanUwill I think it's fair to say that Wilson was a terrible person, He was born in the south and helped boost the lost cause myth. He resegregated many agencies and parts of the federal government. Wilson himself fired 15 out of 17 black supervisors in the federal service and replaced them with white people. The head of the Internal Revenue division in Georgia fired all his black employees, saying, "There are no government positions for Negroes in the South. A Negro's place in the corn field." To enable hiring discrimination going forward, in 1914 the federal government began requiring photographs on job applications. It's worth stressing that Wilson's policies here were racist even for his time. Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft had been much better about appointing black statesmen to public office, and other political figures, including whites, attacked Wilson's moves toward segregation. The influential pro-civil rights journalist Oswald Garrison Villard wrote that the Wilson administration "has allied itself with the forces of reaction, and put itself on the side of every torturer, of every oppressor, of every perpetrator of racial injustice in the South or the North." He further attacked it for its "political stupidity": The administration "has put into the hands of the Republican party an issue which, if they have the sense to use it, may be just the touchstone they are seeking."

[@asendimchev1996]

I swear that Woodrow Wilson is some alter-ego of HP Lovecraft.

[@SuperCrazf]

A. Dimchev thanks, now I can't unsee him XD

[@sharkfinbite]

New conspiracy theory. Wilson found the fountain of youth and used it on himself to take back years of his aging. Then he faked his death in 1924 and created an alter ego named H. P. Lovecraft. This way he can live his dream of being a horror/scifi writer. Sadly the fountain of youth didn't protect him from cancer and he died from cancer on his intestine. haha

[@zancospancos]

lol

[@BigBoss-sm9xj]

Nice

[@USMValor-jc5xu]

He does look a lot like him.

[@khalilmason]

"Woodrow Wilson did not live very long..." The best thing he ever did.

[@ThievesInTheTreasureRoom]

Shut up, idiot

[@tonymaiullo2674]

And that’s because Woodrow Wilson’s Wife Was Only A Woman.

[@naishabatchu]

Really... he died at 67?

[@tjcassidy2694]

@ 7:48 "The first Southerner to be president since 1848." Andrew Johnson (1865-69) was from Tennessee.

[@s0undwavekiller558]

We Tennesseans are always forgotten... Although its hard for one to forget such a terrible President.

[@ZER0ZER0SE7EN]

Right, Indy should have said first Southerner elected President since 1848.

[@scottski02]

"Keep it civil." You overestimate the abilities of KZbin commenters.

[@alexamerling9363]

Yep

[@yaujj65]

Elastic people

[@julianpolzin]

The amount of respect with which you treat history is admirable. Thank you for your diverse coverage of highly complex topics and leaving space for interpretation when needed, which obviously shows respect to your viewers as well. This is the difference between education and propaganda: Trusting the recipients with the information given. Well done!

[@nicholasrowley947]

Here's my opinion of Wilson: He was a politicians politician with ideas that were both respectable and contemptible. He did many things in his life, and he could have done much more had he tried to conjure some of the energy that made Colonel Roosevelt a legend.

[@nicholasrowley947]

A generic description for a generic politician.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

I saw in a documentary that when he suffered the debilitating stroke in office, the First Lady controlled access to Wilson, and effectively became the new president, due to the fact that the precedent of a President becoming incapacitated was not accounted for.

[@CJ87317]

He wasn't as bad off as some seem to suggest. He did make a smattering of speeches after the stroke. Edith Wilson did serve as his gatekeeper though and he rarely left the White House.

[@rohiths3554]

What did she do

[@BuddyNovinski]

Having two degrees in history from Penn State, I found this episode quite enlightening. I recall in eighth grade when my teacher talked about WW's "morals", and I had no idea what he had meant. Even that history class never covered the details I learned later. Now I understand WW better thanks to this video.

[@TheGreatWar]

Glad we could be of assistance. A lot of things are still a mystery to us too in this war, but we are getting there.

[@jhoward8780]

In the case of the segregated army, I seem to remember reading that Pershing didn't have anything against desegregating the army (he got his nickname due to serving with the Buffalo Soldiers of the famed US 10th Cavalry), but was pretty much forced to keep the status quo by Wilson and others mainly as a way to keep the peace with southern units in the army. Can anybody confirm or deny this?

[@TheGreatWar]

you will find out when we have our Pershing episode.

[@ajperez6576]

Wilson was an Anglophile? I guess that makes him a *Puts on sunglasses GERMAPHOBE

[@TheGreatWar]

I want a give of that.

[@steelhammer103]

I always preferred TR instead of Wilson.

[@judgedredd8657]

TR is the most accomplished and interesting person to ever live

[@shadow16sf]

You should read up on Francisco de Miranda. His life is so adventure filled and wild that one could think he was a time-traveler. Definitely up there, if not higher than TR in interesting and accomplished.

[@MrChiron12]

Theodore is probably my favorite president.

[@williamlydon2554]

Roosevelt was quite active during the war, i'd love to see an episode on him.

[@judgedredd8657]

id love to see that actually

[@blurr220]

As a resident of NJ, I can safely say that things haven't changed much in terms of corruption here.

[@kevinoneal9779]

I mean, it's not *that* bad.

[@elysian-prince]

You're that old, huh? :P

[@tiggergolah]

No, Nicky, blurr220 and I have access to a form of time travel, whereby we can access the witness, thoughts, and ideas of those from the past. It's called "books." All the same, I'll judge his knowledge of NJ history, fleshed out by the local stories he's heard all his life, probably trump your glibness.

[@elysian-prince]

My comment was meant as a joke, tiggergolah.

[@zoperxplex]

You got that right!

[@SealyAl]

+The Great War Would you do an episode on David Lloyd George (DLG) on a WDWinWW1? He was a major figure prior to the war, a key leader during it and did much to shape the post-war nihilistic view of the war after it. Thanks, and keep up the good work.

[@LawIV]

he also blew off Hi chi Minh, which could have prevented the war in Vietnam

[@grandtheftauto5588]

The hate against Woodrow Wilson is totally overblown. If you weigh the pros vs cons, Wilson was overwhelmingly a positive force.

[@MrChunkylover53]

I am 40 years old. I shook hands with my 90 year old great grandfather who fought in WW1 when i was a boy. My great grandfather shook hands with veterans from the US civil war when he was a boy. Therefore,i have shaken a hand that shook the hand of a civil war veteran. History is not as far away as it seems.

[@quillinkhistory9539]

This guy should have his own TV show, he´s awesome as a populare historian and TV-personality.

[@NathanCassidy721]

"No campaign in the history of this country has been so marked by viciousness, bitterness, and invective." ...until 2016.

[@curt8652]

Hi, this is 2020 calling.. "You ain't seen nothing yet."

[@NathanCassidy721]

@@curt8652 This year is just a whole new level of crazy.

[@jefffreeman8905]

The question of racism must always include another question. "Were they more or less racist than the norm for their time?" There's a terrible tendency to judge people of the past based on MODERN standards, by which even highly progressive people will fail because progressivism has moved well past their point. I don't know the answer for Wilson, but if he's judged, incorrectly, by modern standards then he WILL fail.

[@RedBull34xxxxx]

Jeff Freeman The dude had a showing for the Birth of a Nation at the White House. Teddy met with Booker T Washington there. Your answer provided.

[@KILLERDOG416]

Jeff Freeman that just means teddy much more progressive than most people in his days

[@bbdawise]

I actually agree with your main point. People loving holding our ancestors to modern standards. However, in Wilson's case, we're talking about a man who openly supported the KKK. People like to assume that every American was a member of the KKK back then but that simply was not the case! Only the racists were racists, everyone else either didn't care at all or actively opposed the racists.

[@RedBull34xxxxx]

While probable, you don't see the other presidents around him being so obviously racist. While they entertained the idea, they certainly didn't advocate it like Wilson. The Birth of a Nation aspect is to show that Wilson actually held these beliefs, as it was a private showing. He wasn't doing it for show.

[@mjinnh2112]

He was actually pretty racist even for a time when racism was more accepted (and not just racism; all kinds of ethic slurs were considered OK). But Wilson went out of his way to make it difficult for black Americans. This is what made him a true racist; he acted on it. He segregated the federal government, which had been a source of upward mobility for former slaves. This should not be underestimated, considering Washington's geographical location on the border of the south, where the idea of a professional class of African Americans was pretty much a non-starter of an idea. It was a huge set back. Nor should the segregation of the armed forces be downplayed, especially since the virtual codification of the races in WWI set the pattern for continued segregation in WWII. Wilson was appallingly rude to Booker T. Washington in person.

[@tpaktop2_1na]

If TR did not run again, Taft would have a second term as POTUS versus Wison (50.6% vs 41.8% of votes). Not a fan since Prohibition happen on his (Wilson's) watch among other views.

[@sethlangston181]

As many issues as Wilson was responsible for, he actually vetoed against Prohibition. It was Congress who overrode his veto.

[@tpaktop2_1na]

@@sethlangston181 Don't make Wilson stand above others. He was a cruise control president. As time goes on such as the Paris Peace talks, you will see how ineffective Wilson was in his leadership. He was out classed in world politics.

[@gilbertramirez6626]

I am watching the final episode of American Experience " Great War ".. Thank You for Your open handed handling of WW1 and Wilson's part in in.

[@pizzatime3367]

Just wondering, don't mean to rush you or tell you what to do, are you still thinking about Paul Von Hindenburg?

[@NerevarOfficialReal]

Mr. Churchill! How are you, my good chap?

[@TheGreatWar]

+Wnstn Chrchll we're thinking about him every day

[@stevenjlovelace]

Oh the humanity! :D

[@angels2online]

I wonder how many ppl get that. It's not that obscure.

[@nicholasarcarese1908]

This is awesome, we just talked about Wilson last week in school, I can't wait to show my teacher.

[@ringowunderlich2241]

The channel forgot to mention, that later on Wilson regretted the Federal Reserve Act. He feared that he had sold out his country to the private banks by giving them the power over the national (later international dominating) currency. The FED was never a public institution.

[@beachmama9037]

Eventually the FED will bring down America. End the FED.

[@person3070]

there are no primary sources to back up such a claim, sadly. He was still our worst president though

[@avnrulz]

Love the photo of him giving the longbowman's 'up yours' two-finger salute at 5:32! LOL

[@G36Ghost]

"No campaign, in the history of this country, has been so marked by viscountess, bitterness and invective" boy would he have a laugh reading about 2016.

[@erraticonteuse]

That's nothing, during the election of 1798, John Adams tried to get a rumor going that Thomas Jefferson had actually died.

[@whatsinanameish]

It was a throwback to my own childhood in the 70's to see the absolute unchecked automotive smoke at 7:30 . It must have been loud and chokingly bad... Like standing in campfire smoke, or even worse.

[@mavriss1661]

I see Woodrow as the man that supported American neutrality as far as it would go, and was willing to do what was needed when the time came. He did have some more backwards views, but they were less harsh than those before him and you have to start somewhere. In the end he was a visionary statesman I believe.

[@jameskipp1657]

agree with you statement.

[@maxsmodels]

Although I think Wilson was as honest as any man who held that office I do not care for his elitist attitudes nor his desire for nearly monarch-like presidential powers. He also is considered by many to have committed the most egregious violations of the constitution in American history with the sedition act. In an Orwellian-like law it became illegal for Americans citizens to criticize their own government in a time of war. It was illegal to “utter, print, write or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” about the government or the military. The Postmaster General was even given the authority to revoke the mailing privileges of those who disobeyed. About 75 periodicals were were shut down by the government in this way and many others were given warnings. So much for the first amendment. America was on its way to becoming a police state. DOJ (the Department of Justice) arrested tens of thousands of individuals without just cause. Even comments made within the walls of one’s own home that were critical of the Wilson administration could lead to arrest. A letter to federal attorneys and marshals said that citizens had nothing to fear as long as they “Obey the law; keep your mouth shut.” Long before there was a Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo) the Justice Department created its precursor right here in the good old USA with the American Protective League. Its job was to spy on fellow citizens and turn in “seditious” persons or draft dodgers. In September of 1918 in NYC, the APL rounded up about 50,000 people. All in all it is estimated that about 175,000 Americans were arrested for failing to demonstrate their patriotism in one way or another. It even continued after the war. Look up the Palmer raids.

[@kristjanvalgur8871]

In the Eastern part of Europe, Wilson is seen as the figure, who popularized the idea of the right of self-determination for different folks/nations. I originate from Estonia and historians here have debated about it and come to a conclusion that he had an influence on creating new states such as Estonia. When it comes to the right of self-determination of nations, the socialist were I think the first to write about, for example Kautsky and Lenin. Even Lenin promised independence to ex-Russian provinces based on the self-determination. As the actions of Soviet Russia's government and mainly Lenin show that when the Great War ended they started to retake the Baltic countries (included is Finland) and Poland. So much of the promises, as it was just cynical pragmatism in the "way of progress".

[@callumbailey4454]

Another exceptionally thoughtful and informative episode from a top notch series! If they ever include KZbin in Emmy nominations for documentaries, this channel should be first on the list! As a Patreon supporter since March 2015, I hope even more of your fans will realise the value of your work and consider making a small contribution on Patreon.

[@TheGreatWar]

+Callum Bailey thanks for your support

[@briansmith9439]

At 10:50 is the Wilson profile made by 1000s of men; do you know if this was one of the ones made at the US Army encampments? I know Camp Dix (NJ) made the Liberty Bell in May 1919. Many people - including many from my home state of NJ - don't know that there was a vociferous debate on who to support in the Civil War - North or South? Many don't realize that south Jersey is south of the Mason-Dixon line. There's a lot to be said about what exactly were Wilson's goals regarding Europe - many point to his 14 Points as the start of US attempts to keep Europe fractured into many small countries rather than amalgamate into one large European Union which would threaten US economic interests - a stance that many see as remaining unchanged even today.

[@nicoleboyle9255]

Never much of a history buff until later in life. With present day political issues. I follow everything. With much opposition to the W.E.F. I know now that W. Wilson has many buildings, etc. in his name in Davos, Switzerland. This had me stumble upon your video and others. Loved the way it was summed up in your presentation . Interesting how the " Progressive's " are quite different today. Thanks again! Best regards...

[@ClaireR3]

Downfall of the world- Wilson’s Ego

[@dakotashelton8703]

Hey Indy and crew! Thank you all very much for the show and for shedding light on WW1. Without forcing spoilers on other viewers, I have a question for out of the trenches: will there be a video on the American forces in Serbia? Love to know more about it since one of my ancestors service cards show he was stationed there. Thanks!

[@davidcoleman4800]

As a constitutionalist... some one who wants us to follow the constitution and the original intent; for me Woodrow Wilson is our worst American president of all. I am a firm believer that if we had been following those principles of the constitution and "friendly relations with all nations, tangling alliances with none" the twentieth century would have turned out much differently. Europe would have continued to fight much longer, yes, but would have arrived at more equitable terms for all sides and avoided WWII. The Soviet Union would have collapsed in the first year and been replaced, sparing the world 75 years of the Cold War. --- Keep up the excellent work. You are the history teacher I always loved and wished everyone had in high school :-)

[@wordsmithgmxch]

Great episode, Indy! Many thanks to you -- and Madeline, of course -- for handling such a monster topic in such depth and with such sensitivity to current concerns), and within the constraints of your format. A few words on why the League never got off the ground in the US would have been welcome. Perhaps in a later episode??

[@TheGreatWar]

Yes, that will be covered - in depths - later on.

[@borisdelaine9797]

I like to thank Indy for the fair assessment of President Wilson. No leader is perfect and excused from judgement but President Wilson was a visionary leader with flaws that impacted my family. Up until his Presidency the Navy and the Merchant Marines were places that many Black Americans could enlist and progress but that was changed under President Wilson.

[@itwaslikethatwhenigothere]

could I make a suggestion that you do a special about Sir John Monash. I read a biography about him last year and I was suprised to learn how important that someone from my home state was in the great war.

[@itwaslikethatwhenigothere]

Indiana Neidell Excellent, looking forward to it.

[@Forlyn0]

Indy tells youtube to keep it civil, "Oh boy..."

[@Wilsonfamily66]

PBS in the US is airing a show called The Great War April 10. I knew you should have gotten a copyright on that name. Now everyone will use it. Much love, keep up the great work.

[@TheGreatWar]

Well, guess what will happen when people type "the great war" into the KZbin search.

[@dlracer2]

There is the United States before Woodrow Wilson, and the United States after Wilson. It became a different - less free country after him.

[@ottovonbismarck7094]

Just as a random gun fact, the British fired 5 million bullets trough a vickers gun in one sitting, it took them one week of continuous fire to get through those bullets.

[@kevinoneal9779]

Oh, I see you're responding to comments! Howdy Flo!

[@danb7202]

Indiana Neidell I had no idea you had your own channel

[@Mr110074]

Interesting story. One of the courses I took in college was American History 1914-1945. When we got around to Wilson, the professor told us a story how in the 70s when was a young campaign worker for a Democratic candidate, he went door to door talking to people. One of these people was an old black lady and she told him how she never votes Democrat because her father lost his job at the White House thanks to Wilson. This was like 60 years later. Just something I found Very interesting.

[@ysersno]

Have you ever done a video on Hermann Goring? Or Karl Donitz?

[@TheGreatWar]

not, yet.

[@8thfloormath369]

One thing I can definitely say that I don't like about Woodrow Wilson is the sedition act and the espionage act. Both were heavily unconstitutional.

[@maxheadspace2975]

Wilson premered the KKK movie "Birth of a Nation" in the WHITE HOUSE, which was instrumental in the resurgence of the Klan. He was absolutely a racist.

[@castor3020]

entertaining racist guests does not make one racist. Acting in a racist manner does, learn the difference. Not advocating that Wilson is/isn't racist, just stating that your statement is untrue.

[@williehardiman6766]

Kastor Hallavainio he was probably racist also just not to the point where he wanted to see blacks hanging from trees. He was a product of his time.

[@aoli8142]

@@castor3020 Yeah, he *illegally* fired all black employees from the white house to entertaib guests too

[@el0quinn]

Debs

[@donaldhill3823]

People often want people from history to be perfectly good or perfectly bad and the truth is that most historical figures are just like everyone else in that they are basically human. They may support great ideas while still having great flaws in their personal character. Over all Woodrow Wilson's actions did great things for the Nation and the world as a whole so I would say on balance he was a good man despite things he did or said that were just plain wrong without defense.

[@David-fm6go]

That defense works for someone like Lincoln who actually advances the football. The problem for Wilson is that in some ways he was playing defense against change and working against change and even pushing back.

[@willjohnson3299]

Such a awesome time period in American history! This is truly a great show keep up the amazing work Indy and crew!

[@frostyguy1989]

Simply put: Wilson was America's worst ever president. Nobody else compares. He was a Confederate sympathiser who used his historian credentials to popularise the Lost Cause myth that the Civil War was about states rights and not slavery. He turned the clock back on the small gains made for African Americans and brought Jim Crow into the Federal Government. He attempted to concentrate more power into the Executive Office, and his Sedition Act undermined the First Amendment. Then there's the foreign policy disaster named after him: Wilsonian Interventionism, where the US invades foreign countries and actively tries to install regimes favourable to it, which is still predominantly used to this day. His bungling at Versailles and inability/unwillingness to understand how the world actually works lead to a treaty that guaranteed another World War. He was awful, so many of America's catastrophes can be traced back to his administration, and frankly, I can say without hyperbole that the world would have been a better place had he not existed.

[@pepelopez8372]

An interesting read on said topic is The Kings Depart by Richard M. Watt. It´s from 1968, a while back, I know. It deals with the postwar German Revolution and with the Allied response. A good portion of the book covers President Wilson, his running for president, presidency as well as his postwar efforts.

[@pronon1990]

He wasn't the best president but but he wasn't the worst I honestly believe that he should've made America join the league of Nations that could help maybe prevented the second world war but I don't know thatBut we were in that time. Were we were just isolationist but good episode though

[@PLH93]

He wanted America to join the League, but he was blocked by Congress, since he couldn't get the required two thirds majority in the senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles which created the League.

[@Charlesscul]

What was the yarrowdale affair that he mentioned at 9:50?

[@ivangushkov3651]

meh...who wasnt racist back then? Are we honestly gonna start pointing fingers? Cuz every nation had racists in power...

[@TheGreatWar]

+Ivan Gushkov no one is pointing figures, history is not a pissing contest who was the worst.

[@jefffreeman8905]

I wish more people thought that way.

[@ajeuscher7988]

Agreed. You gotta look at it in their context not ours. I would like to see how his views compared to other heads of state at the time.

[@bbdawise]

...it's not like every single human on the planet was a racist at that time. This is incredibly flawed logic.

[@BrorealeK]

Mark Twain. Countless other American Progressives. Even a good deal of American Republicans. It's a myth that everyone hated Black people back then. Many abolitionists in the 1860s wanted Black Americans not only to have equal status under the law, but guarantee that status was protected and enforced through Reconstruction. The idea that "everyone was racist" 100 years ago just isn't true. Will people look back at us 100 years from now and say "oh, everyone thought that unarmed Black teenagers were dangerous back then"?

[@FloridatedH2O]

Are you guys planning to comment on Wilson's strategy of "Moral Diplomacy" and its role in the latin american interventions of 1913-1921? Or even the interventions in just Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Rep., Cuba and Panama that occurred between 1914 and 1918?

[@TheGreatWar]

We might. But need a different source on that.

[@wales2k4747]

I just realized that Woodrow Wilson looks like H.P. Lovecraft.

[@robotictoast65]

Would anyone be able to link the soundtrack used at 9:26? Thanks

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

1916 re-election line : "he kept us out of the war" Flash forward to 1918 : still more thrustworthy than Hillary

[@kellychuang8373]

That really sums it up or at least he kept us out for as long as he could.

[@furripupau]

Thrustworthy? Is that some sort of sex innuendo?

[@cpob2013]

well, he DID keep us out of war then more of our ships were sunk and we discovered germany wanted to instigate full scale war with mexico, thats kinda grounds for war. whether you want it or not war has practically been declared on you

[@blaze_0077]

@ *yungsavage* Dude, Trump is *NOT* a *Communist,* *Communism* is an extreme left-wing ideology, you can't get any farther left than *Communism,* Communism is a socioeconomic ideology that wants the common ownership of the means of production, they want to abolish money, social classes etc. Marxist Communism basically wants complete social and economic equality, where there is no rich or no poor, and everyone is equal, basically what Jesus would have been, Jesus would have been either a Socialist or a Communist. "From each according to his ability to each according to his need". You can read about Communism here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism Trump is a right-winger, he's a Conservative, so if anything he would be a *Fascist* , *Fascism* is an extreme right-wing ideology, it's what the Axis Powers were during World War 2, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Hideki Tojo were all Fascists, *Fascism* is an *Authoritarian Nationalist* ideology that believes in centralized government run by a dictator, militarization of the government, due to the extreme patriotic/nationalistic nature of Fascism racism usually comes along with it. *"Fascists believe that liberal democracy is obsolete, and they regard the complete mobilization of society under a totalitarian one-party state as necessary to prepare a nation for armed conflict and to respond effectively to economic difficulties. Such a state is led by a strong leader-such as a dictator and a martial government composed of the members of the governing fascist party-to forge national unity and maintain a stable and orderly society. Fascism rejects assertions that violence is automatically negative in nature, and views political violence, war, and imperialism as means that can achieve national rejuvenation. Fascists advocate a mixed economy, with the principal goal of achieving autarky through protectionist and interventionist economic policies."* en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism It's a Left-Right political spectrum, on the left you have Liberals, Progressives, Social Democrats, Liberal Socialists, Democratic Socialists, Socialists, and Communists etc. On the right you have Conservatism, right-Libertarianism, Alt-Right, and Fascists etc. The left-wing wants more social and economic equality, supporting welfare, higher wages, workers rights, higher taxation on the rich, free healthcare for EVERYONE as a right, minority rights, women's rights, pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia, they support gay marriage, they promote tolerance, peace, anti-war, multiculturalism, environmentalism etc. While the right are traditionalists hence the name *Conservative,* they basically want the status quo and are usually opposed to change and progressive policies, they believe in "Family Values", "Religious Values", less welfare, lower taxes on the rich and lower taxes in general, less regulations, they're against abortion, they oppose gay marriage ,"Traditional Values" etc. they support gun rights and promote the private sector and promote free market capitalism in economics. But on social issues the more they want to control the people and take away rights and freedoms are known as *Authoritarians* and *Totalitarians.* There's the Authoritarian Left and the Authoritarian Right. For instance, Adolf Hitler was a Totalitarian Fascist, he was a far-right totalitarian, Josef Stalin was a Totalitarian Communist, so he was a far-left totalitarian. You should read more about left-right politics and educate yourself more if you want to get into politics. You should read this, *Left-Right Political Spectrum:* en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left%E2%80%93right_politics

[@giossj4fusion87]

Duke of Lorraine 5 months after Wilsons re election, he declared war

[@gregorymaurer9858]

Great Episode Indy and crew! Thank you for continuing the practice of not injecting current politics into your episodes.

[@ΠασχαληςΜπανδας-θ5υ]

"First" comments have reached this channel as well. Sad.

[@spacewardsebas]

Hopefully the racist trolls and supremacists that prolifer in other political and historical channels never reach this channel. Hopefully.

[@CBfrmcardiff]

+spacewardsebas Maybe they're just quiet because they're not generally "triggered". Indy and his team do a pretty good job in presenting history in an interesting and incisive, yet inoffensive, way. If you have a channel whose character is ideological or which denounces beloved historical figures then you're bound to get a response. In fact, it's a cheap way to get views.

[@ΠασχαληςΜπανδας-θ5υ]

What I like about this historic channel(and the team behind it of course) is that they aren't biased. They present the events from a clearly informative perspective. There are many extreme nationalists out there though,especially in videos about the Balkans.

[@hideouspants2947]

They also closed the comment section for the Albanian warlords video as it was absolutely stuffed with comments by nationalistic idiots from the Balkans blaming other ethnic groups that also lived in the Balkans region.

[@spacewardsebas]

+Mark Vance Damn, thats sad :/ But as you said, i guess its unavoidable.

[@SeverusVergiliusMaro]

@The Great War Hi Indy and team! This is a rad video, like all of your content, and I really appreciate the way you treat these incredibly important and controversial figures. I think you walk a tough line well, and manage to be tactful without being evasive--and the respect with which you treat these figures is just so refreshing! However, there is one, O! gravest of errors which you have made--the most contemptible, the most unforgivable errors: you pronounced 'Staunton' like a Yankee! Bless your heart--if you go to Staunton you'll find that everyone says "Stan-ton," not "Stawn-ton" or "Stone-ton!" Like Buena Vista (Sorry, it's BYOO-na VIH-stuh) and other towns in the area, the names aren't intuitive (unless you already know). I have often heard that they were pronounced different for the sake regional identity after the Civil War, but the sounds like a folk explanation. Again, love the show, and I hope this comment and pleasant lil'-tidbit o' knowledge meets you well! Have a lovely Monday!

[@TheGreatWar]

Well, Indy is from TX and hasn't lived in the states for over 20 years. So, this was an error we just had to make. If it's consolation for you, we also regularly butcher British towns and naval turn.

[@skykid]

"This is what real democrats are like!" This was 100 years ago. Politics has changed immeasurably since then, and the parties are not the same. Stop twisting the unbiased history in this channel to support your rhetoric.

[@stevencagle9640]

Lolol....because all of those racist demo politicians changed overnight

[@Ben_not_10]

What I find interesting in all of this is that if you compare the events of that time period (1898-1920) you can see a lot of parallels to our modern situation. The 1916 election and the quote by the secretary of the Navy defiantly spring to mind. It goes to show that as the old saying goes "history repeats itself when no one listened the first time".

[@conflicthorizon]

The problem is. People of today see things differently then they did a hundred years ago. He had obligations at the time, that due to the times, he needed to abide by. Its the whole hind-sight is 20/20. Its easier to judge someone from the outside, especially when the lived a hundred years ago.

[@micahlambert953]

I had a professor that said he wasn't really a "Progressive" but Wilson's considered as a progressive by other historians and is bunched in with the progressive presidents that preceded him. His complexity as a president, and personal life is interesting to read about. Interesting in the way that there's a lot there, but not so much in his policies are "interesting".

[@benjamingriffith4183]

Progressive (progress) anti-war, anti-corruption. Right there alone makes me highly respect Wilson. Especially since he wouldn't allow him self to be a puppet for corporate NJ. 8 hour work day. Many popular social programs still to day. Good president IMO

[@khalilmason]

Benjamin Griffith he signed the federal reserve act, and agreed for all Americans that we'd have to pay interest on the money the Fed prints and then loans to our banks. He fucked us all.

[@kriticalhit5000]

"No campaign in the history of this country has been so marked by viciousness, bitterness, and invective." - Josephus Daniels. "Hold my beer..." - 2016.

[@Dreaded88]

Here: here's the best words on the Train-Wreck that was the W.W. Administration! Woodrow Wilson's Lament: “...I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit… all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world, no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men....” He WAS the Hillary Clinton, we could've ended up with!

[@thedankestjesus1094]

Wilson does not equal Hillary. Hillary is as conservative as a liberal gets and is funded by more than enough bignkmndy

[@jeffreymalinowski4091]

4 years late but whatever- 7:46 Andrew Johnson was a southerner from Tennessee who served as 17th President of the United States from 1865-1869. He had been elected Vice President and ascended to the Presidency upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was not re-elected, making Wilson the first southerner ELECTED President since Zachary Taylor won the election of 1848.

[@seanwon88]

I'm not crazy about this income tax, Woodrow

[@DavidSmith-ss1cg]

The Income tax was started to compensate for losing the tax income from liquor sales, so that passage of the Volstead Act(Prohibition ) wouldn't leave the US government short of money .

[@ralphbernhard1757]

Another excellent review. Keep 'em coming....

[@basileus-pr6jh]

The Wilsonian doctrine and the American's lacking understanding of Europe in general and Central Europe specifically ended up being a huge catastrophe for Europe. In many ways American liberals made the war about ideology - as Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn has described the views of Wilson and the American left; "Austria was far more wicked than Germany. It existed in contradiction of the Mazzinian principle of the national state, it had inherited many traditions as well as symbols from the Holy Roman Empire (double-headed eagle, black-gold colors, etc.); its dynasty had once ruled over Spain (another bete noire); it had led the Counter-Reformation, headed the Holy Alliance, fought against the Risorgimento, suppressed the Magyar rebellion under Kossuth (who had a monument in New York City), and morally supported the monarchical experiment in Mexico. Habsburg - the very name evoked memories of Roman Catholicism, of the Armada, the Inquisition, Metternich, Lafayette jailed at Olmuetz and Silvio Pellico in Bruenn's Spielberg fortress. Such a state had to be shattered, such a dynasty had to disappear."

[@ColasTeam]

They've always felt like their duty is to save the world, even tho they've consistently made it worst.

[@Johnnycdrums]

The counter reformation was against heresy and apostasy, it had to be done. Pius V was a great Pope. The Inquisition(s) were noble endeavors. The auto-da-f'e is the basis of all modern western justice systems. Myths about the Spanish Inquisition were Protestant disinformation campaigns.

[@basileus-pr6jh]

I'm a protestant so the counter-Reformation isn't really my thing, thought it certainly did a lot of good for the Catholic Church, but I quite agree with you on the Inquisition, though it's been increasingly enlightenment radicals mythologizing on it.

[@JurzGarz]

"it had inherited many traditions as well as symbols from the Holy Roman Empire (double-headed eagle, black-gold colors, etc.); its dynasty had once ruled over Spain (another bete noire); it had led the Counter-Reformation, headed the Holy Alliance"------Care to explain what's actually wrong about this? You're just kind of saying it's bad because it's Catholic, which is pretty fucking offensive.

[@JurzGarz]

+Blah B------ Not in total agreement with the other guy, but you're preety far from correct to. First off, mentioning atrocities in the Wars of Religion is a non-starter since both sides committed them, and they often weren't actually religious acts but, similar to the 1099 siege of Jerusalem, typical medieval/renaissance-era city sackings. Also, the Papal Inquisition was actually quite progressive for its time, since it limited the use of torture (which was common in secular courts) and hypothetically placed the burden of proof on the prosecution. The actual number of people who actually died from the Inquistion has also been grossly exaggerated by Protestant propagandists and later, secularists. This is not to justify religious persecution, as the other poster does, but we must realize that the Inquisition wasn't really an atrocity in its time.

[@KnightSlayer135]

Indie,I went to highschool right down the street from Wesleyan, at Xavier High School in middletown CT

[@alanpattee4383]

Wilson was a P.O.S. to bad Roosevelt didn't win!

[@danieldelewis2448]

If I'm keeping it civil then I will say I am appreciative of your by the book depiction of Woodrow T. Wilson

[@mkd2839]

Woo Woo Woodrow Wilson, Waver of the freedom stick

[@SiVlog1989]

If his League of Nations had the teeth to match its high ideals, it may have delayed the outbreak of the Second World War slightly, but the lingering tensions post war in 1919 and the refusal to join the League by the US, meant that it was a compromised peace

[@imperator8801]

The only thing I can really like about Wilson is the idea of self determination for the peoples of Europe. Other than that he was pretty terrible.

[@LordVader1094]

What is the music used from 9:25 onwards? I'm most curious.

[@jelkel25]

He sold out not just his own generation but all future generations GLOBALLY the day he signed the federal reserve act, not to mention his League Of Nations/WW1 treaty meddling which again helped to mess things up globally to this day.

[@jelkel25]

That's just asinine. You try to label me to divert attention away from not knowing what you're commenting on. Try reading what the Federal Reserve Act did then I would be happy to see you try to defend it, Wilson couldn't, he later realised that he'd messed up but I'm sure you know better.

[@jelkel25]

@ Is this the fiat currency that you pay interest on that only keeps the value it has as long as its the petrodollar? How long will that last in the current climate? Then we'll find out what you "fail to see".

[@jelkel25]

America hasn't relied on the petrodollar for four decades..... Yeah, it must be manufacturing.... Oh wait.....So Saddam and Ghadaffi never threatened to stop using the petrodollar at all...... Its so irrelevant they both needed a can of freedom/whoopass opened up on them. You're absolutely correct..... The dollar will not fail as long as the deficit grows at such a super rate with no attempt at stopping it. It wouldn't take outside forces a millisecond to turn off the tap and everything seriously hit the skids, couldn't even pay that pesky interest on your money then. Nooo, that would be Commie talk If I said that.

[@guanmingqiao9887]

Thanks from Davidson College!!