David Frum is a former conservative Republican (George W. Bush’s speechwriter) and now a “Never-Trumper” who acknowledges voting for Hillary Clinton in 2016. He is currently an editor at The Atlantic where he recently published an article, “Uncancel Woodrow Wilson,” defending the record of the early twentieth century (1913-21) president.
I strongly disagree. Your article is informative, but Wilson was one of the worst presidents of all time and his name should be stricken from every public edifice. He pioneered the modern shredding of the constitution we see today. For example, Wilson pushed through unprecedented media and speech control. His administration prosecuted thousands of individuals for any government or war critique. He also pioneered mass government propaganda (ie lies) while suppressing the publics publications. Wilson implemented the undemocratic Federal Reserve while also enacted a ruinous income tax, which resulted in widening wealth gaps and cycles of recessions and misery. He ignored pleas from Black women to do something about the mass lynchings of Black men returning from Europe. He set up the League of Nations but did not support it because he did not want to submit to it. It can be argued this strategy was a light that started WWII. I could go on but Wilson was an unmitigated disaster of biblical proportions we still live with. Indeed, Wilson was the founder of Shock Doctrine theory. No to Wilson.
I would be remiss if I did not add the US Chamber of Commerce pushed heavily for the income tax of 1913. The Chamber promoted the claim the tax would reduce inequality because it would eliminate taxes from the sale of goods. Taxes from goods was the chief source of revenue for the federal govt prior to 1913. And the supreme lie from Wilson was the wealthy would pay it. That quickly changed once the law was enacted. We still live with the problem on who disproportionately pays income tax because the govt can reward its friends and punish those it despises (like you and me). As a result, compared to other countries, the US disproportionately raises revenue from income tax. We have the worst inequality of major countries because of Wilson’s income tax enactment. Oh, by the way, the original Internal Revenue Code was over 200 pages and was loaded with corporate exemptions. For these facts Wilson should be expunged from public discourse. Never hire an academic for public work! Ever.
I strongly disagree. Your article is informative, but Wilson was one of the worst presidents of all time and his name should be stricken from every public edifice. He pioneered the modern shredding of the constitution we see today. For example, Wilson pushed through unprecedented media and speech control. His administration prosecuted thousands of individuals for any government or war critique. He also pioneered mass government propaganda (ie lies) while suppressing the publics publications. Wilson implemented the undemocratic Federal Reserve while also enacted a ruinous income tax, which resulted in widening wealth gaps and cycles of recessions and misery. He ignored pleas from Black women to do something about the mass lynchings of Black men returning from Europe. He set up the League of Nations but did not support it because he did not want to submit to it. It can be argued this strategy was a light that started WWII. I could go on but Wilson was an unmitigated disaster of biblical proportions we still live with. Indeed, Wilson was the founder of Shock Doctrine theory. No to Wilson.
I would be remiss if I did not add the US Chamber of Commerce pushed heavily for the income tax of 1913. The Chamber promoted the claim the tax would reduce inequality because it would eliminate taxes from the sale of goods. Taxes from goods was the chief source of revenue for the federal govt prior to 1913. And the supreme lie from Wilson was the wealthy would pay it. That quickly changed once the law was enacted. We still live with the problem on who disproportionately pays income tax because the govt can reward its friends and punish those it despises (like you and me). As a result, compared to other countries, the US disproportionately raises revenue from income tax. We have the worst inequality of major countries because of Wilson’s income tax enactment. Oh, by the way, the original Internal Revenue Code was over 200 pages and was loaded with corporate exemptions. For these facts Wilson should be expunged from public discourse. Never hire an academic for public work! Ever.