The consequences of Wilson’s fateful decision to enter World War I played out long after he died in 1924, because of Hitler, Lenin, and Stalin. Those ruthless killers would not have come to power as they did if the United States had stayed out of the war. Their crimes are part of Wilson’s story, ignored in Wilson biographies and history books. Wilson biographies, like other biographies, typically end with the subjects’ death.
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Moreover, Hitler and Stalin were the principal instigators of World War II, so that’s a consequence of Wilson’s decision—part of his story. After World War II, Stalin grabbed Eastern Europe and provoked the Cold War, and Wilson’s legacy continued. The Cold War involved two major hot wars—Korea and Vietnam—and the United States entered both in the Wilsonian tradition of trying to do good even when there wasn’t a direct threat to America’s national security. Wilson’s shadow has loomed over the Middle East as well, since bitter adversaries were forced into a new nation—Iraq—thanks to the Versailles Treaty made possible by Wilson.
Looking to the 2016 presidential election, it is clear that only Rand Paul appears to understand the horrible legacy of Woodrow Wilson and its unintended consequences.
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