Alexander L. George (1920–2006)

The work of Alexander and Juliette George represents a highly controversial attempt to explain why Wilson so impulsively sought control over the events he confronted. Writing a psychobiography of Wilson, the Georges sought to present a cohesive explanation for Wilson's seemingly irrational behavior. Though their work leads up to an explanation of Wilson's fatal intransigence over modifications in the League of Nations provisions of the Versailles treaty, their analysis applies equally well to Wilson's response to the "rising tide of revolution."

The Georges's argument is that Wilson's relationship with his hyper-critical, perfectionist father created latent anxieties in Wilson about his own self-worth and intellectual abilities. The need to be morally and intellectually superior, and constantly in control of his environment, was the result of this insecurity. Admittedly hypothetical, this explanation has the benefit of identifying a source for Wilson's utter irrationality in allowing Henry Cabbot Lodge to maneuver him into a defeat of his beloved League of Nations in the U. S. Senate. Appealing to an inner and subconscious logic, the Georges restored consistency to Wilson's behavior. The question remains whether restoring consistency is the historian's goal.… (meer)