An architect of the American century: Colonel Edward M. House and the modernization of United States diplomacy

Abstract

This dissertation examines the impact and influence of Colonel Edward House. House occupied a unique position in American history. The Texan wielded great power for most of Woodrow Wilson's presidency. House left an enduring impact on U. S. foreign policy while he served as the president's closest advisor. The project covers House's early life because it offers valuable clues as to how the colonel constructed his latter role as a presidential advisor and international figure. House believed in the idea of great men shaping history and bending events to their will. He also thought that the political arena provided the best arena to achieve greatness. Moreover, House knew due to his poor public persona and persistent illnesses had to construct a distinctive position for himself. House found that his path to greatness rested in exerting power behind the scenes.^During his early years in politics he served as confidential advisor to a series of Texas governors, a position House later fillled in the Wilson administration. House found his chance to move onto the national scene through the presidential candidacy of Woodrow Wilson. He provided some key services for Wilson during the course of the 1912 campaign and quickly gained the confidence of the candidate. After Wilson's election House acted as a de facto chief of staff as he helped fill administration jobs. When the president-elect assumed office on March 4, 1913 House offered some advice on domestic policy but his ambition soon turned towards diplomacy. House believed that global politics provided the best way to achieve prominence. Though driven by ambition and ego House helped to usher in an era of American internatiionalism. His role as peace envoy, during American neutrality, marked the first time in the modern era that the U. S. involved itself in a European war.^House continued his internationalist stance when America entered the war when he helped draft the Fourteen Points and an early covenant of the Fourteen Points. House was an important figure in bringing America out of its era of isolationism onto the world stage.