Above the mountains of the earth: The American Presbyterian roots of Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy

This dissertation is an examination of the manner in which Woodrow Wilson's Presbyterian thought and practice influenced the international relations policies of his presidential administration from 1913 to 1921. This American Presbyterian tradition shaped the way that Woodrow Wilson perceived the world. It shaped his concepts of effective leadership and the way in which he used language. It shaped the way in which he reasoned, and in particular it accustomed him to the theological principle of antinomy: that two principles could both be right even when others, looking at them in the light of logic rather than faith, found them mutually contradictory. Using archival material on the Wilson administration, the collected papers of members of his inner circle, as well as Presbyterian denominational archives this dissertation explores the religious thread that was an integral part of the tapestry of the political thought of the 28th President of the United States. This dissertation prioritizes the manner in Wilson thought rather than the specifics of what he thought. The work focuses on how this theological concept of antinomy as practiced by the American Calvinist tradition in which the president was raised influenced his pattern of reconciling contradiction in his international political practice.