The First Cold War

The Legacy of Woodrow Wilson in U.S. - Soviet Relations

Donald E. Davis, Eugene P. Trani

• Publisher: University of Missouri
• Year: 2002
• Print ISBN: 9780826221742, 9780826213884
• eBook ISBN: 9780826263452
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

In The First Cold War, Donald E. Davis and Eugene P. Trani review the Wilson administration's attitudes toward Russia before, during, and after the Bolshevik seizure of power. They argue that before the Russian Revolution, Woodrow Wilson had little understanding of Russia and made poor appointments that cost the United States Russian goodwill. Wilson later reversed those negative impressions by being the first to recognize Russia's Provisional Government, resulting in positive U.S.–Russian relations until Lenin gained power in 1917.

Wilson at first seemed unsure whether to recognize or repudiate Lenin and the Bolsheviks. His vacillation finally ended in a firm repudiation when he opted for a diplomatic quarantine having almost all of the ingredients of the later Cold War. Davis and Trani argue that Wilson deserves mild criticism for his early indecision and inability to form a coherent policy toward what would become the Soviet Union. But they believe Wilson rightly came to the conclusion that until the regime became more moderate, it was useless for America to engage it diplomatically.

The authors see in Wilson's approach the foundations for the "first Cold War"—meaning not simply a refusal to recognize the Soviet Union, but a strong belief that its influence was harmful and would spread if not contained or quarantined. Wilson's Soviet policy in essence lasted until Roosevelt extended diplomatic recognition in the 1930s. But The First Cold War suggests that Wilson's impact extended beyond Roosevelt to Truman, showing that the policies of Wilson and Truman closely resemble each other with the exception of an arms race. Wilson's intellectual reputation lent credibility to U.S. Cold War policy from Truman to Reagan, and the reader can draw a direct connection from Wilson to the collapse of the USSR. Wilsonians were the first Cold War warriors, and in the era of President Woodrow Wilson, the first Cold War began.

Index

Acheson, Dean, 205

“Acid test” of Allied goodwill, 100, 107, 109, 110, 127, 261n26

Adee, Alvey A., 4

Agriculture: development of, 97, 235n10; and resources of Russia, 117, 120, 125

Aid, 247n40; for Alekseyev, 95; and Allied occupation of Murmansk, 129; British, 94, 123–24; history of U.S., 198–99; for Japanese intervention, 127, 147; for Kaledin, 94, 95–96, 110; military, 46, 167–68, 176; for Omsk government, 176, 177, 183–84, 186–87, 274n8, 278n1,, 280n34; to Provisional Government vs. Bolsheviks, 71–72; and Root Mission, 43, 48–49; for Russia to continue war, 41–42, 44–45, 47–48, 52, 56, 62–63, 90–91, 100, 102, 113; for Russian return to democracy, 174; U.S., 46, 51, 101, 243n57, 282n45; U.S. funneling through Allies to Kaledin, 93, 151; and U.S. Russian policy, 97–98, 111, 140–41, 246n33. See also Loans; Relief

Alaska, sale of, 3

Alderman, Edwin, 22

Alekseyev, M. V., 89, 95–96

All Russia Union of Cooperative Societies, 142–43

“Allied Intervention at Archangel and Murmansk” (Supreme War Council), 132

Allies, 100; aid from, 47, 52–53, 55, 186–87, 278n1, 279n11; conference in Paris (1916), 25, 26; development of policy toward Soviet government, 77, 82, 85–86; fear of Soviet expansion, 165, 275n39; interventions against Bolsheviks, 158, 162–65, 199; isolation of Soviet government, 85, 128, 151, 191–92, 209; and peace conference, 159–60; pressuring Russia to continue war, 84, 91, 112–13, 180; and Provisional Government, 108; relations with Soviet government, 83–84, 86–87, 134–35, 165, 167–68; response to Russian/German peace, 59, 70, 79–80, 106; and Russian civil war, 159, 163–64; Russian relations to, 63, 80; and Russia’s internal affairs,...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Foreword to the Russian Edition
• Preface
• Introduction. 1913: Russo-American Relations
• One. 1914–1916: Three Ambassadors for St. Petersburg
• Two. 1917: The Root Mission and Stevens Railway Commission
• Three. Wilson and Lansing Face Lenin and Trotsky
• Four. December 1917: The Struggle for a Policy
• Five. January 1918: Point VI of XIV
• Six. Northern Russia and Siberia
• Seven. 1919: Paris in the Spring
• Eight. The First Cold Warriors
• Conclusions. 1921: The First Cold War
• An Essay on Notes and Sources
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Authors