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Woodrow Wilson and the “Great and Solemn Referendum,” 1920
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2009
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Several aspects of Woodrow Wilson's political thought recurred time and again in his academic writings, privately expressed opinions, official statements, and even in his actions. They formed the framework for much of his political life. One of these was his belief that, of all kinds of government, the best was that kind that was representative of and responsible to the people. Another was a concomitant of the first: a faith in the inherent ability of the people to know what was both right and good for them. Wilson also believed in the sanctity of contracts, in the duty of an honorable gentleman or an honorable government to keep pledges once made. There were, of course, many other facets of his political thought, but these three principles run like red threads through all of it. Like the tributaries of a mighty river, they converged early in 1920 to form the nucleus of one of Wilson's most daring — and tragic — plans of political action. They inspired his appeal for “a great and solemn referendum” on the League of Nations issue in the United States.
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- Copyright © University of Notre Dame 1965
References
* Without wishing to burden him for his own errors of fact or interpretation, the author should like to thank Professor Samuel Flagg Bemis for his many helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.
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8 House Diary, November 15, 1916. “At some future time I intend arguing this question out with him,” House continued; “he is interested in such matters, as indeed I am, and it was a joy to have the discussion.” These statements by Colonel House suggest a continuity in Wilson's thinking about the place of the cabinet and the role of the President in a representative democracy. For a somewhat different view, relying solely upon the published writings of Wilson and others, see Ranney, Austin, The Doctrine of Responsible Party Government (Urbana, 1962), pp. 39–42Google Scholar; and Wann, A. J., “The Development of Woodrow Wilson's Theory of the Presidency: Continuity and Change,” in Latham, Earl, ed., The Philosophy and Policies of Woodrow Wilson (Chicago, 1958), pp. 46–66Google Scholar.
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16 Wilson to Lansing, November 5, 1916, The Papers of Ray Stannard Baker, The Library of Congress, Series I, Lansing File. Hereinafter cited as Baker Papers.
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30 Early in September House wrote to Wilson that if the Lodge-Roosevelt group came to Congress “flushed with victory, no appeal that you can make over their heads will be successful…” House to Wilson, House Papers, September 3, 1918.
31 House wrote on October 25 that he was “greatly disturbed” by the appeal, calling it a “needless venture.” House Diary, October 25, 1918. “It distresses me that you thought I committed a mistake in putting forth my appeal to the country,” wrote Wilson to Charles W. Eliot after the election; “If I erred, it was merely under the impulse to be frank with the people I am trying to serve.” Wilson to Eliot, November 8, 1918, Baker Papers, Series I, Eliot File. One writer has stated that the election returns might have been more Republican had the President not issued his appeal. See Bailey, Thomas A., Woodrow Wilson and the Lost Peace (New York, 1944), p. 67Google Scholar. I would suggest that the statement had little if any effect upon the final outcome of the election; the campaign was fought largely on local issues and, where the national issue was of importance, positions had been generally crystallized by October 24, 1918, the date of the famous appeal. Cf., Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip E., Miller, Warren E., and Stokes, Donald E., The American Voter (New York and London, 1960), p. 533Google Scholar.
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34 Printed in War and Peace, vol. I, pp. 465–8.
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60 War and Peace, vol. II, p. 9.
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66 See above, pp. 5–6.
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75 New York Times, October 26, 1920.
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77 Wilson indicated this both to Raymond Fosdick and Edward Bok late in 1923; see, House Diary, November 23 and December 14, 1923. It is interesting and instructive to compare Wilson's later attitudes with those discussed by Festinger, Leon, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Stanford, 1962)Google Scholar.
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79 House Diary, November 13, 1920.