Question

5. Managing the pace of change posed a tricky problem for leaders in the early twentieth century. How did President Wilson try to control the dynamic of social and political change? What methods of change was he unwilling to accept?

Answer 1

Woodrow Wilson transformation of the basic objective of American foreign policy from isolation to internationalism, his success in making the Democratic Party a “party of reform,” and his ability to shape and mobilize public opinion fashioned the modern presidency. Under his leadership, Congress enacted the most cohesive, complete, and elaborate program of federal oversight of the nation's economy up to that time:-

* banking reform under the auspices of the Federal Reserve System

* tariff reduction

* federal regulation of business

* support for labor and collective bargaining

* federal aid to education and agriculture.

Together, these programs helped the United States begin to catch up with what was happening in other industrial states around the world.

The 96 members of the Senate, for their part, were divided. The central concern with the treaty involved the League of Nations. ... Wilson was absolutely unwilling, however, to accept any degree of change or compromise to the treaty or to his precious League of Nations.