EDWARD H. BUEHRIG. Woodrow Wilson and the Balance of Power. Pp. x, 325. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1955. $5.00
| Author | George C. Osborn |
| Published date | 01 March 1956 |
| Date | 01 March 1956 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/000271625630400126 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
152
Like
Mr.
Jones,
he
seems
to
endorse
the
policies
of
Roosevelt
and
Truman,
but
in
a
scholarly
way.
This
is
an
excellent
book
and
worthy
of
careful
reading
by
the
stu-
dents
of
today.
WILLIAM
STARR
MYERS
Princeton
University
RICHARD
HOFSTADTER.
The
Age
of
Re-
form :
From
Bryan
to
F.D.R.
Pp.
viii,
328.
New
York:
Alfred
A.
Knopf,
1955.
$4.50.
Although
relatively
young,
Professor
Hofstadter
has
established
a
reputation
for
himself
among
American
scholars.
The
Age
of
f Re f orm
adds
to
his
achievements
as
a
brilliant
writer.
Many
books
have
been
written
on
the
period
1890-1940,
and
this
will
not
be
the
last,
but
when
the
final
ap-
praisal
has
been
made
many
of
this
au-
thor’s
interpretations
will
prevail.
This
book
deals
with
three
reform
move-
ments-Populism,
Progressivism,
and
New
Dealism.
More
than
one-third
of
the
book
(130
pages)
is
consumed
by
Populism.
Mr.
Hofstadter
is
not
concerned
with
a
narrow
approach
to
American
agrarian
un-
rest
in
the
1890’s,
but
he
treats
the
broader
aspects
of
the
movement.
Populism
sprang
from
the
soft
side
of
agrarianism.
Its
pro-
tests
were
good
wholesome
Americanism,
but
the
movement
spent
its
force
on
in-
congruous
and
untenable
panaceas.
More-
over,
its
efforts
towards
influencing
eco-
nomic
growth
were
backwards.
If
Populism
was
an
outgrowth
of
in-
creasing
poverty
among
rural
folk,
Pro-
gressivism
was
a
by-product
of
urban
mid-
dle
class
upheaval.
It
was
a
reform
move-
ment
of
prosperity,
not
of
economic
want.
Theodore
Roosevelt
and
Woodrow
Wilson,
perhaps
the
two
greatest
proponents
of
Progressivism,
were.
much
in
accord
in
their
political
thinking.
The
author
con-
tends,
however,
that
neither
of
these
re-
form
presidents
had
much
in
common
with
Franklin
Roosevelt.
To
this
writer,
the
New
Deal
was
new
indeed.
That
conclusion,
along
with
some
others,
notably,
that
Populism
was
the
chief
source
of
anti-Semitism
in
the
United
States,
will
not
be
accepted
unanimously
by
the
students
of
the
period.
Obviously,
there
were
many
contrasts
between
New
Dealism
and
Progressivism,
and
it
is
of
these
that
Professor
Hofstadter
has
written.
Here
is
a
book
that
is
full
of
new
inter-
pretations
of
three
reform
movements
in
an
era
that
has
been
much
written
about.
It
is
a
reinterpretation
of
liberalism
by
a
devoted
liberal
written
in
a
fascinating
style.
This
book
will
be
avidly
read
by
all
Americans
who
are
interested
in
the
Age
of
Reform.
GEORGE
C.
OSBORN
University
of
Florida
EDWARD
H. BUEHRIG.
Woodrow
Wilson
and
the
Balance
of
Power.
Pp.
x,
325.
Bloomington:
Indiana
University
Press,
1955.
$5.00.
This
is
a
significant
addition
to
the
growing
list
of
Wilsoniana.
It
is
a
thought-
provoking
book
in
that
not
all
of
the
au-
thor’s
contentions
will
be
generally
ac-
cepted
by
students
of
Woodrow
Wilson.
The
author
traces
briefly
the
diplomatic
history
of
the
United
States
and
England
during
the
nineteenth
century.
By
the
close
of
the
century,
tension
between
Eng-
land
and
Germany
was
having
its
effect
on
the
delicate
balance
which
had
been
reached
in
Anglo-American
relations.
If
the
United
States
and
Germany
evolved
different
atti-
tudes
towards
the
British
control
of
the
seas,
neither
doubted
England’s
maritime
supremacy.
The
submarine
proved
the
undoing
of
cordial
relations
between
the
United
States
and
Germany.
Not
only
did
Germany’s
use
of
below
the
surface
fighting
ships
cor-
rupt
our
friendly
relations
with
her,
but
this
innovation
of
maritime
warfare
les-
sened
the
strain
that
existed
on
Anglo-
American
relations.
England’s
effective
blockade
of
extended
sections
of
Europe’s
coastline
and
her
policy
of
increasing
the
contraband
list
had
placed
severe
strains
upon
our
cordial
relations
with
her.
The
sinking
of
the
Lusitania
caused
a
breach
in
amicable
relations
between
the
United
States
and
Germany
which
never
healed.
This
catastrophe
led
to
Bryan’s
resignation.
Lansing,
his
successor,
early
decided
that
the
United
States
must
not
permit
a
German
victory
even
if
we
had
to
go
to
war
to
prevent
it.
After
dis-
cussing
at
some
length
the
reasons
for
Ger-
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