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Not many presidents have had to deal with such a major and profound catastrophe during their administration as Woodrow Wilson did with World War I. In the period surrounding Wilson’s victory, the United States saw unparalleled internal growth, owing primarily to advances in technology and infrastructure: the US population quadrupled. Manufacturing’s worth increased exponentially. Cities developed in and out of existence. While the 92 election was generally associated with how the government would tackle the nation’s development, Wilson’s two elections would predict a unique kind of development, one of a worldwide and humanitarian sort. With World War I, the United States migrated away from the protectionist philosophies espoused in George Washington’s farewell speech and established itself as a world leader. The 28th president, like the republic, revised his views on isolationism as well as the United States’ role in the struggle and encountered the mammoth responsibility of establishing how the world will function in peace after such a struggle. Wilson’s internationalism and the notion of world order were utopian and clashed with reality.

Wilson wouldn’t be seen as a politician who would be distracted with foreign matters prior to his election. His significant area of interest and skill as an intellectual was not diplomacy and foreign relations. During his campaign, Wilson mostly relied on economics, since it was the most urgent problem at the time, promoting liberal views that preserved individual rights through some kind of smaller centralized administration and the control of massive companies. When diplomacy was discussed in the campaign, it consisted of Wilsons pushing for a foreign policy that prioritized human rights above property rights, which serves as an illuminating ideological precursor for greater things to come. Whilst the overarching goal was to remain objective and continue the United States’ tradition of being comparatively isolationist in European matters, the magnitude of the struggle rendered this strategy increasingly difficult. Woodrow adopted the phrase ‘He kept us out of war’ in his reelection campaign in 96. When the floodgates of the fight began in 94, Wilson was overwhelmed about how to terminate the war without involving a militarized United States.