-
Views
-
Cite
Cite
Kendrick A. Clements, Woodrow Wilson's Mexican Policy, 1913–15, Diplomatic History, Volume 4, Issue 2, April 1980, Pages 113–136, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7709.1980.tb00340.x
Close - Share Icon Share
Extract
In developing a policy to deal with the Mexican Revolution, Woodrow Wilson confronted a crucial problem of American foreign policy in the twentieth century: can the United States help smaller, weaker nations to escape various forms of foreign imperialism or indirect domination without substituting a dependency on America for the old relationship? As it gradually evolved, Wilson's policy sought to use American power to break the hold of foreign economic interests over Mexico, and at the same time to avoid dictating to the Mexican people what form of government they should adopt and what that government should do. Both foreign and American domination were real dangers, and steering a course between them required delicate adjustments and subtle compromises that were condemned by contemporaries and historians alike as hypocritical or unrealistic. Yet Wilson persisted despite mistakes and misunderstandings, and the result was a policy vastly more practical and successful than most historians have realized.1
