Following his victory in the 1912 United States presidential election , Democrat Woodrow Wilson served as President of the United States from 1913 to 1921 . Major foreign policy figures in the Wilson administration include Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan , and " Colonel " Edward M. House , Wilson 's key foreign policy adviser until 1919 . Bryan resigned in 1915 due to his opposition to Wilson hard line 's towards Germany in the aftermath of the Sinking of the RMS Lusitania and was replaced by Robert Lansing . Following Bryan 's resignation , Wilson took more direct control of his administration 's foreign policy . Wilson 's foreign policy was based on an idealistic approach to liberal internationalism that sharply contrasted with realist conservative nationalism of William Howard Taft , Theodore Roosevelt , and William McKinley . Since 1900 , the consensus of Democrats had , according to Arthur Link :
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
History of U.S. foreign policy, 1913–1933