Recently, Justice Clarence Thomas used a speech at the University of Texas at Austin
to remind Americans why Woodrow Wilson still matters in the fight for
constitutional government. “Since Wilson’s presidency,” Thomas warned,
“progressivism has made many inroads into our system of government and
our way of life. It has coexisted uneasily with the principles of the
Declaration. Because it is opposed to those principles, it is not
possible for the two to coexist forever.” That is the right frame.
Wilson did not merely fail the Constitution. He rejected its central
premises—and helped build the machinery that continues to threaten the
Founders’ vision of limited constitutional government.
When I survey the long parade of presidents who led this country, from giants like Washington and Lincoln to the mediocrities and failures, one man stands apart as uniquely destructive: Woodrow Wilson.
When he entered the White House in 1913, he brought unusual credentials: a doctorate from Johns Hopkins, a scholarly reputation, and experience leading Princeton University. Americans thought they were getting their first true scholar-president.
What they got instead was the worst president in American
history, a man whose toxic blend of intellectual arrogance, racial
prejudice, and authoritarian instincts inflicted wounds on this country
that we are still trying to heal.
The Classroom Meets the Real World
Wilson’s academic background shaped everything in his presidency, sometimes for better, often for worse. He approached governing like a professor addressing a stubborn class, convinced that if he explained things clearly enough, everyone would eventually see the wisdom of his vision.
That worked in lecture halls. It failed spectacularly in the messy world of politics. ..............To Read More
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