Woodrow Wilson is recalled as one of America’s most consequential presidents. His two-term administration constitutes a keystone of the modern era of American government. John M. Cooper, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has dedicated his career to illuminating Wilson and his era. Cooper is perhaps best known to the public as the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Woodrow Wilson: A Biography, acclaimed as the best one-volume account of Wilson’s wide-ranging life and work. 

In this episode of the Serve to Lead podcast, Cooper discusses Wilson’s historical legacy and reputation—highly contested matters in the early twenty-first century. 



Professor Cooper’s books include:

Woodrow Wilson: A Biography

The Warrior and the Priest: Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt

Pivotal Decades: The United States, 1900-1920

Breaking the Heart of the World: Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the League of Nations

Image: Wilson Center