US President Woodrow Wilson and his theory of management

Future US President Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856 in the town of Staunton, a town in the north of Virginia. The boy had Irish and Scottish roots. Father Woodrow became a Presbyterian theologian. He was an advocate of slavery and after the outbreak of the Civil War supported the Confederates. At the church, the Wilsons even opened an infirmary for wounded soldiers.

The religiousness of his father influenced Woodrow. As a place of his training, he chose the Davidson College, located in North Carolina and trained ministers for the Presbyterian Church. Then in 1875 Woodrow Wilson enrolled at Princeton University, where he was fascinated by history and political philosophy.

Scientific career

In 1882, a young specialist was given the opportunity to begin his career as a lawyer. However, the legal practice quickly disappointed Wilson. The following year he decided to resume his theoretical studies and turned to science. The graduate student entered the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied at the Ph.D. The degree was obtained in 1886. Even before that, the scientist wrote a book about an American congress, for which he received a special award from his university.

The scientific and teaching career of the future politician was connected mainly with Princeton University, where he in 1902-1910. Served as rector. Within the walls of this institution was written a fundamental five-volume "History of the American people."

Political career and election as president

Wilson adhered to the views of the Democratic Party. As her candidate, the beginning politician in 1910 was elected Governor of New Jersey. In the state immediately began active social reforms, initiated by Woodrow Wilson. A brief biography of the politician will not be complete without mentioning this period of his life. Thanks to his efforts and the promotion of new insurance laws, he became a well-known figure of the all-American scale.

In 1912, the Democratic Party unexpectedly put forward Wilson as its candidate in the next presidential race. Those elections were unusual for the American electoral system. Usually two main candidates were arguing for the seat in the White House - from the Democratic and Republican parties. In 1912 this habitual picture was broken. In addition to Wilson, the Republican protege William Taft (27th US president) and the close to him by electorate Theodore Roosevelt (26th US president) joined the race, who left the Republican Party because of the conflict and founded his own - Progressive. The split could not but affect the results of the vote. Wilson confidently defeated Taft and Roosevelt, who divided among themselves the republican half of American voters.

Was it the deserved success that Woodrow Wilson achieved in 1912? A brief biography of the Democrat shows that he was atypical for the post of US President of that time figure. Wilson's contradiction was primarily due to the fact that he was a southerner, and his family supported the Confederates and slavery during the Civil War. Before him, all presidents were born in the northern states. If there had not been a split between Taft and Roosevelt, Taft would have defeated Wilson. However, the circumstances played into the hands of the Democrat, and now he had to prove that he deserved the credit of trust granted to him by American voters.

Domestic policy

The biggest reform in the domestic policy of Wilson's first term was his transformation of the US financial system. In 1913, he established the Federal Reserve System. This new body received broad powers. The Fed began to act as a central bank and to exercise control over commercial banks operating in the United States. The Federal Reserve system has been independent since its inception. For example, she does not need the approval of the president to implement decisions on monetary and credit policy. At the same time, the Congress got control over the Fed.

Even today in the US, the same system, initiated by Woodrow Wilson, continues to operate. He carried out public administration, adhering to the rule of checks and balances. Under Wilson, the power structure became more balanced than ever - none of its branches (executive, legislative or judicial) could impose its course on the entire country. The establishment of the Federal Reserve was one of the steps to consolidate this order.

In the international arena

Woodrow Wilson had to be president in a troubled era for all mankind. In 1914, the First World War began in Europe. At first, the US president did everything to not involve his country in the conflict in the Old World. At the same time, he tried to be a parliamentarian between the belligerent parties, although his proposals for talks did not lead to anything. Republicans believed that President Woodrow Wilson makes a mistake in pursuing a peace-loving policy, and constantly criticized him for the chosen foreign policy course.

In May 1915, a German submarine sank the Luzitania liner, which was off the coast of Ireland under the British flag. On board this passenger ship was a large number of American citizens (124 people). Their death caused a flurry of outrage in the United States. After this episode, the policy of pacifism, supported by Woodrow Wilson, was further criticized. The biography of this statesman, like any other US president, was full of episodes when he had to make difficult decisions. Here and this time in the White House they demanded that Germany stop the unlimited submarine war, because of which "Lizitania" perished. The Germans lost. At the same time Wilson began to persuade the British to limit the naval blockade of the enemy. The dispute between official Washington and London led to some cooling of their relations.

Declaration of the war of Germany

It was the foreign policy environment that became the key factor in the presidential elections of 1916, during which Wilson ran for a second term. His election campaign was based on the fact that it was he who could save the US from entering a big war. The main rival of the first person was the Republican candidate Charles Hughes. The elections showed practically equal popularity of opponents. In some states, Hughes won with a minimal margin, in some - Wilson. In the end, it was the acting president who managed to retain the coveted chair behind him.

A month after taking office, Wilson initiated the declaration of the war of Germany. With what was this steep turn connected? First, the Germans, contrary to their promises, resumed the submarine war and again began to threaten the American ships and citizens who traveled to Europe. Secondly, British intelligence intercepted the so-called "Zimmermann's telegram" and handed it over to the US. The essence of the document was that the Germans urged Mexico to declare war on its northern neighbor in the event that Washington still decided to oppose the Reich. A telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann was published in the press. In the United States, the anti-German sentiments were again stirred. Against this background, the diplomacy of Woodrow Wilson dramatically changed its course. April 6, 1917, the US declared war on the German Empire.

"Fourteen points"

First of all, Washington has greatly expanded the program of naval and economic assistance to the Allies. Formally, the US never entered the Entente, but acted as an associated country. All the front operations were led by General John Pershing. In October 1917, American troops appeared in France, and in July 1918 - in Italy.

Wilson, in turn, led the diplomacy. He formulated the famous "Fourteen points." It was a program of the future world order. Wilson hoped to build such a system of international relations, in which the possibility of wars would be reduced to a minimum. The key decision implemented under the program of the American president was the establishment of the League of Nations. This international organization was the first of its kind. Today, it is naturally considered the predecessor of the United Nations. "Fourteen points" were publicly formulated on January 8, 1918 in a speech that Woodrow Wilson said before the Congress. Quotations from it immediately got into all the major newspapers.

The Paris Peace Conference

The US entered the war against Germany already at the final stage of the conflict. In November 1918, the central powers were finally defeated, even despite their separate peace with Soviet Russia. Now the victorious countries were to determine the future of international relations. To this end, the Paris Peace Conference was convened. She worked for exactly one year - from January 1919 to January 1920. The American president also took part in it . For several months the house of Woodrow Wilson moved from Washington to Paris.

As a result of the conference, dozens of peace treaties were signed, the borders within Europe were changed, new states were created, the League of Nations was established. Although the American president was the initiator of its appearance, the Senate refused to ratify the agreement on the League of Nations (at that time the majority belonged to the Republican oppositionists). Because of this, there was a paradoxical situation - an international organization began its work without the United States. Nevertheless, it was Wilson with his "Fourteen points" that played one of the key roles at the Paris conference. In 1919, the Nobel Committee awarded the American president for his peacekeeping Nobel Prize.

Theory of State Management

In addition to his political career, Woodrow Wilson is also known for creating a modern system of administrative and public administration of the United States. In 1887, as a professor, he initiated the theoretical development of this issue. Wilson formulated his ideas in an epoch-making article "The Science of Public Administration", published in 1887.

The future US president analyzed the problems that are on the way of reforms in democratic countries. He noted that any serious changes in the state occur as a result of a compromise between the two forces - the government and public opinion. At the same time Woodrow Wilson stressed that the adoption of important political decisions can not be entrusted to a crowd that does not understand the essence of the country's political course and its national interests. Instead, the author of the new theory proposed to influence public opinion in such a way as to convince citizens of the need for certain transformations.

The art of state power over the country the professor compared with business. This message was largely prophetic. More than a hundred years after the appearance of the Wilson article, capitalism spawned huge corporations that, by their political weight, are not inferior to some states, and their managers can exert a significant influence on the life of society. But it's not just a matter of scale. The management methods of an effective manager of a company and a public manager do have many similarities (especially in the economic component). In both cases, you need to acquire a skilful team of supporters, properly distribute the powers, monitor the budget and competitors.

Interaction of politicians and bureaucracy

Wilson's important thesis was the idea of separation of administrative and political management - the first should lie on the shoulders of the bureaucracy, and the second should remain in the sphere of competence of the "first person". This concept was supported by a prominent American political scientist and teacher Frank Gudnau. Two theorists made a clear line between administrators and politicians and believed that the relationship between them should be based on the principle of subordination. Some are required to obey others. In the case of control over politicians over bureaucrats, they will not be able to interfere in politics, but will simply effectively carry out their work.

Woodrow Wilson and Frank Goodnaw defended the idea that such relations provided the development of democracy. Within their framework, political leadership and legislation set the key direction for administrators. On the basis of all these theses, Woodrow Wilson's management theory first of all tried to highlight the topics and answer the questions about what should be effective management and scientific management. It is also important that the author of the concept pushed to second place the importance of the political ideology of the state.

Death and heritage

1919 was one of the most intense for Wilson. He constantly moved around the world, took an active part in conferences, persuaded the Senate to ratify the agreement on joining the League of Nations. Against the background of stress and fatigue Wilson struck a stroke. In October 1919, he had paralyzed the left side of the body, in addition, the man went blind in one eye. In fact, from that moment the president became incompetent. Before the end of the authorities, most of the duties of the first person fell on the shoulders of his advisers. According to the constitution, vice-president Thomas Marshall could take the post of his boss, but he did not take this step.

In March 1921, Wilson left the White House. President Republican Warren Harding became president. Woodrow Wilson's new home was in Washington. The rest of his days the former president held out of politics. Because of his condition, he avoided publicity. Wilson died on February 3, 1924.

Americans keep the memory of their 28th president. In 1968, Congress founded the Woodrow Wilson International Science Center. In a special act, this institution was called a "living memorial" of the president's memory. The scientific center employs scientists whose field of activity is political science - the subject within which Wilson has become the author of many advanced theoretical ideas.