Introduction

Abstract

The Wilson administration started at an unusual moment in United States history. Woodrow Wilson held office at a time when the United States was first exercising power on the world stage. It was also, perhaps, the last time when a very small elite conducted the foreign policy of nations, including the United States, with little or no reference to public sentiment. In Britain, the Foreign Office under Sir Edward Grey, who served from 1905 to 1916, paid little heed to outsiders in policy creation, preferring to rely on their own observations. When they examined the United States policy under President Wilson, they found policy-making quite centralised and quite different from that of his Republican predecessors. As President Wilson was virtually the sole American foreign policy-maker throughout almost the whole of his tenure, British views of his character and personality became very important as determinants of British foreign policy during the years 1913 to 1921.