In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Epilogue WOOD’S DEATH was followed by a predictable flurry of obituaries and—except for two biographies fifty-eight years apart—silence. Today, were it not for an army base that bears his name, we would never hear of Leonard Wood. To explain why a life so varied and so influential should have vanished from the public memory we must turn to the general’s checkered career and his equally checkered personality. Wood at his best was altruistic, intelligent, creative, supremely selfcon fident, and indefatigable. As the architect of American twentiethcentury nation building, he brought order out of chaos, overcame epidemics , established an equitable judiciary, opened schools, funded hospitals , built roads, and eschewed personal wealth. Wood was also arrogant, intolerant, and autocratic. He did not believe the people he ruled were capable of self-government and never thought them his equal. At times his disdain descended to cruelty and even murder. As army chief of staff, he was intolerably self-righteous and, convinced he knew more about the nation’s military needs than the president, he sacri ficed his career to his vision. His insatiable appetite for power culminated in his run for the presidency. During his campaign, the public saw what was admirable in the general and would very likely have elected him had professional politicians not focused on his flaws and combined parliamentary manipulation and bribery to derail his candidacy. Had he won, America would have had a combination of militarism, nativism , and authoritarianism in the White House instead of Warren G. Harding. In the end, as Elting Morison said, Wood “never quite discovered how to fulfill himself or to satisfy others in the exertion of his own remarkable powers.”1 Perhaps we have forgotten him because he was too much like ourselves. 298 ...

Share