​WE have looked at the first teddy roosevelt - the second is a democrat - woodrow wilson

Theodore Roosevelt, came into office in 1913 following the one term President Taft (who was not particularly noteworthy) Wilson was a Democrat and served until 1921. He developed the growth in Executive power begun by his political rival Roosevelt. Although these two were very different temperaments, from different parties with different outlooks they both shared a PROGRESSIVE approach to politics in the United States. They were ready to take the initiative in both DOMESTIC and FOREIGN Policy. 

However, while Roosevelt had focused firstly on FOREIGN AFFAIRS and then on DOMESTIC POLICY, Wilson was the other way round. Arguably he was the most significant social reformer in US History up to that point, promoting landmark legislation on taxation, GOVERNMENT FINANCE and chiLd labour. his legacy on racial issues and civil liberties is questionable. 

Wilson has been considered as one of Americas greatest Presidents.

• His domestic program expanded the role of the federal government in managing the economy and protecting the interests of citizens.
• His foreign policy established a new vision of America's role in the world.
• And he helped to make the White House the centre of power in Washington.
• Most historians rank him among the five most important American Presidents, along with Washington, Lincoln, and the two Roosevelts.

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Wilson built upon the example of Theodore Roosevelt, and while his immediate successors (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover) would return to the caretaker model of the presidency, Wilson's administration fundamentally altered the nature and character of the presidency. 

• He changed the Executive office (the Presidency) from being an equal or lesser partner with Congress to its superior--the DOMINANT branch of government. This is exactly what Wilson had in mind when he became President. He intended to lead his party and the nation such as the British Prime Minister leads Parliament. 

THE WILSONIAN APPROACH..

However, while Wilson wanted to make the office of President dominant, he would do so in a careful and conciliatory way:

Wilson came into the White House like a "priestly visionary," intent on expanding economic opportunity for people at the bottom of society and eliminating special privileges enjoyed by the richest and most powerful members of society.

For him, his New Freedom was a crusade.

Wilson came into the White House like a "priestly visionary," intent on expanding economic opportunity for people at the bottom of society and eliminating special privileges enjoyed by the richest and most powerful members of society.

For him, his New Freedom was a crusade.

Mexico posed a special problem for Wilsonian diplomacy.

• The United States southern neighbour had been in revolution since 1899! However, in 1913, it came under the rule of the counter-revolutionary General Huerta, who clamped a bloody authoritarian rule on the country.​

• Most European nations welcomed the order and friendly climate for foreign investments that Huerta offered, but Wilson refused to recognize "a government of butchers" that did not meet his democratic standards. His stance encouraged anti-Huerta forces in northern Mexico, led by Carranza.
• In April of 1914, Mexican officials arrested a few American sailors who blundered into a prohibited area. Wilson used the incident to justify ordering the U.S. Navy to occupy the port city of Veracruz. The move greatly weakened Huerta's control, and he abandoned power to Carranza, whom Wilson immediately recognized as the de facto president of Mexico. 

• One of Carranza's rivals, Pancho Villa, moved to provoke a war between the Carranza government and the United States by crossing the border into New Mexico on March 9, 1916, and killing several Americans.
• Wilson, without securing permission from Carranza, sent an expedition of 7,000 U.S. soldiers commanded by General John "Black Jack" Pershing into Mexico in pursuit of Villa.
• The expedition failed to capture Villa but provoked a confrontation between the Americans and Carranza's forces in which men on both sides were killed and several Americans were captured.
• Alarmed by the danger of war, Wilson reaffirmed his commitment to Mexican self-determination and agreed to discuss methods of securing the border area with the Mexican government

the zimmerman telegram= a cause of war

• ​Early in 1917, it became clear that the USA was being dragged into World War 1. As a result, Wilson withdrew all U.S. forces from Mexico.
• The decision coincided with the publication of an intercepted message from Arthur Zimmermann in the German foreign office to the German minister in Mexico, instructing him to propose an alliance with Mexico against the United States if Germany and the United States went to war. Following an American defeat, Mexico would regain New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and California, which Mexico had lost in 1848.
• Wilson's release of the "Zimmermann Telegram" solidified U.S. public opinion against Germany, though Mexico was never tempted to accept the German proposal

WOODROW WILSON