Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson had three nicknames while he was president.

The "Schoolmaster of Politics" was the first and most popular.

The "Coiner of Weasel Words" given to him by President Theodore Roosevelt.

The last was "The Phrase Maker", because of his way with words, he didn't need a speech writer because he had an ostentacious diction.

Moral Diplomacy is a form of diplomacy proposed by US President Woodrow Wilson in his 1912 election. Moral Diplomacy is a system in which support is given only to countries whose moral beliefs are analogous to that of the nation. The purpose is to promote the growth of the nation's ideals and damages nations with different ideologies. Wilson felt that the US had a duty to spread democracy, and used aggressive moral diplomacy to ensure it.

Under the doctrine Moral Diplomacy Wilson intervened in the affairs of several other countries, specifically Latin America including

• Mexico in 1914: When Victoriano Huerta siezed control of Mexico in 1913 during one of the Mexican Revolutions, Wilson refused to recognize him, because he had illegally seized power. In April 1914, Mexican officials in Tampico arrested a few American sailors who blundered into a prohibited area, and Wilson used the incident to justify ordering the U.S. Navy to occupy the port city of Veracruz. This greatly weakened Huerta's control, and he surrendered power to another politician (and competing revolutionary), whom Wilson immediately recognized as the president of Mexico.

• Haiti from 1915 -1934: American troops in Haiti, under the command of the federal government, forced the Haitian legislature to choose as Haitian president the candidate Wilson selected

• Dominican Republic in 1916: A political deadlock in 1914 was broken after an ultimatum by Wilson telling the Dominicans to choose a president or see the U.S. impose one, but 2 years later with the former Dominican Secretary of War maneuvering to seize control of the government Wilson ordered the U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic. U.S. Marines landed on May 16, 1916, and had control of the country two months later.Wilson instituted a military government that stayed in place for the rest of Wilson's administration and was dismantled by his successor Warren G. Harding. (The U.S. government's rule ended in October 1922,)

• Cuba in 1917: In 1916, Mario Garcia Menocal, Cuba's incumbent conservative president, was reelected to office, defeating Alfredo Zayas, the liberal candidate, in an election marred by fraud. The liberals protested and the Cuban supreme court upheld their protests. New elections were scheduled for February 1917 in several provinces, but before they were completed, the liberals rose in revolt. Various skirmishes ensued; a small force of US Marines landed at Santiago in Oriente province, a liberal center, and restored order; within a few weeks (March 1917) Menocal's forces had crushed the rebels. US president Woodrow Wilson sought to maintain order in Cuba now that the United States was involved in World War I and believed Menocal was more sympathetic to the Allies. Cuba declared war on Germany on April 7, 1917. Menocal, inaugurated as president on May 20, 1917, asked for and received US troops, which remained in Cuba until 1923.

• Panama 1918: In 1914 the United States completed the Panama Canal under the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty the United States was granted control of the Panama Canal Zone "as if it were sovereign". In that zone, the U.S. would build a canal, then administer, fortify, and defend it "in perpetuity". The internal dynamics of Panamanian politics encouraged appeals to the United States by any currently disgruntled faction for intervention to secure its allegedly infringed rights. United States diplomatic personnel in Panama also served as advisers to Panamanian officials, a policy resented by nationalists. Actual intervention took several forms. United States officials supervised elections at the request of incumbent governments. To protect lives of United States citizens and property in Chiriquí Province, an occupation force was stationed there for two years over the protests of Panamanians who contended that the right of occupation could apply only to the two major cities.

• In addition, Wilson maintained troops in Nicaragua throughout his administration and used them to select the president of Nicaragua.

It all started with the Tampico Affair, when a misunderstanding between Mexican soldiers and American sailors resulted in a "Mexican standoff" at the Mexican port of Tampico on April 9, 1914. The American sailors were arrested, but later liberated. Then, the American commander in the area, Rear Admiral Henry T. Mayo, demanded a formal apology for the events, which included that Mexico had to raise the United States flag on its soil and provide a 21-gun salute. Obviously, these demands were ignored, and President Wilson ordered an armed invasion of the area. This resulted in the United States occupation of Veracruz, when 2,300 American marines assaulted and took the aforementioned port city on April 21, 1914, occupying it for six months.

Immediate results include 22 American marines killed and 70 wounded, and up to 172 Mexican casualties, with 250 wounded including Mexican infantry, sailors and some militia formed from the city populace. Both Victoriano Huerta and Venustiano Carranza (opposing rivals during the Mexican Revolution) officially objected to the occupation, but neither was able to oppose it effectively, as both were fighting against each other. The occupation brought the two countries to the brink of war, and damaged the US-Mexican relations for many years to come.