Editor’s note: This is the 59th in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) was elected president of the United States in 1912. It was a moment of triumph for the Progressive movement, and it brought a sea change in the two-party system. Hitherto, the Republican Party was the party of progressive causes, while the Democratic Party tended toward conservative goals, especially social ones. In the deep South, the old Democrats persisted well … (read more)
