Thomas Woodrow Wilson: A Psychological Study

by William Christian Bullitt, Sigmund Freud

Bullitt was psychoanalyzed by Freud in Vienna in the 20s. Patient & analyst became good friends, deciding to write a book together, a psychobiographical study of Woodrow Wilson. This was exceptional, as Freud rarely cooperated with other authors. The book, 1st published in Europe in the 30s did not appear until '66 in the USA. When it did, many psychoanalysts doubted that Freud had had much to do with it. However, recent research indicates he was an active cowriter. The book received an almost unanimously hostile reception, historian A.J.P. Taylor calling it a "disgrace," & concluding with the question: "How did anyone ever manage to take Freud seriously?"
Freud's view of Wilson was that of a naive American politician whose foreign policy ideas were driven by religious fanaticism. Bullitt had been dismissed by Wilson late in the battle for the League of Nations. He never forgave the slight. It isn't clear how much of the book was really written by Bullitt, as he was skilled in several languages, while Freud wrote only in German & had died by time of publication. Some references attributed to Freud are uniquely American, such as his introduction in which he compared Wilson's naiveté to Christian Science.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Psychology

305 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1939

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Certainly not Freud's best book. No one is sure, beyond Freud's introduction, Bullitt's foreword and digest, who wrote what in this book coauthored with diplomat William C. Bullitt. The only portion of it that is really consistently interesting is the aforementioned digest entitled "Digest of Data on the Childhood and Youth of Thomas Woodrow Wilson"--but, then, I didn't know much about Wilson beyond his period as president.

To pay him back in his own suit, I suspect Freud was interested in this project and in Wilson because of the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles, "a poor peace" which was leading, at the time of his participation, to Nazism in German Europe and which would lead to his exile in England and, eventually, war.

[Richard Epstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the dopiest books ever written by a great thinker.* Essentially, Freud didn't have any of what he needed to do a proper analysis†, so he just made shit up. I give the book its second star for the sheer entertainment value of the silly spectacle. I only wish he had psychoanalyzed Moses. Oh, wait. He did. Okay, Trump. Freud on Trump, including "Some additional thoughts on bad hairpieces."‡


*Okay, "co-written."

†Whatever that might mean.

‡"Ein paar Gedanken zur schlechten Haarteile."

[Raully · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a bad day when Sigmund Freud decides to write your life story.

[Roger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can save you two days’ reading, if you were thinking of trying Thomas Woodrow Wilson: A Psychological Study.

William C. Bullitt’s (and Sigmund Freud’s) analysis may be summarized as follows: Thomas W[oodrow] Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, was raised by a father, a Presbyterian preacher, whom he worshipped and a mother whom he adored. Throughout his life he tried to measure up to and please his father, whose ideals he carried in his head until he died at 67. At the same time, because of the Oedipus complex, he simultaneously resented his father and felt aggressive, combative impulses toward him. Wilson had a younger brother whom he loved and also resented (see a pattern here?) His ambivalence explains his first loving younger men (people being bisexual in nature, if not in physical action) and then bitterly turning on them. His vacillation as Princeton University president, governor of New Jersey, and U. S. President can be explained by this ambivalence.

His two loving wives, and one girlfriend who rejected him, were mother substitutes.

His intense identification with his father combined with his fervent Presbyterianism led him to come to see himself, subconsciously, as both God the father and Jesus Christ, the savior of mankind. These unacknowledged subconscious identifications lie behind his preference for words over action, his career ambitions, and, most consequentially, his dream of establishing world peace through the League of Nations. These ambitions were doomed, of course, to failure. Bullitt, and perhaps his co-author, iterate, reiterate, and repeat this idea—ad nauseam starting somewhere around the middle of the 300 pages of this book.

At first it is a comical, appalling, and sad spectacle; then it becomes irritating and cloying. If the account were 50 pages, might have been sharp and affecting. At 100 some of the details, especially about peace negotiations in 1918 and 1919, might have seemed fresh, substantive, and sharp-sighted. However, the book is just too long. One gets the feeling that Bullitt, who was on Wilson’s staff, is retailing his experiences more for personal glory than because he has anything fresh to contribute to the main argument.

[Dalton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did you know Sigmund Freud wrote an entire book psychoanalyzing his least favorite president, Woodrow Wilson? Did you know that said book was also not very good? Freud and his co-author, William Bullitt, apparently thought that too, having some apprehension about its publication with Bullitt only publishing this in 1967; 43-years after Wilson’s death and 28-years after Freud’s death. This makes “Thomas Woodrow Wilson: A Psychological Study” an interesting curio in 20th century history which I was completely unaware about this book’s even existence until earlier this year. The psychological assessment is focused exclusively on a combination of facts and stories about Wilson’s childhood, his public statements and speeches, and personal stories from Bullitt, who served in Wilson’s administration. What’s most surprising here is the unremarkably of Freud’s conclusions. Freud asserts that Wilson had an Oedipus Complex and with his “weak libido” was drawn to women who emulated his mother while diving into career paths (namely politics) to supersede or “kill” his father. The sentence alone is jaw dropping for a number of reasons. Firstly, that this assertion seems like something a first year Freudian student would devise, not Freud himself. Secondly, the historical inaccuracy. The authors go to great lengths to admit they did not have access to Wilson’s correspondences, diaries, nor did they interview others who knew Wilson, and this lack of research on their subject matter shows. A particularly egregious example of this is Freud’s quick dismissal of Wilson growing up in Confederate Virginia and the Civil War’s impact on Wilson’s ideology. Today this would be grounds for historical malpractice. Instead, Freud puts an inordinate amount of attention on an anecdotal story about Wilson as a boy playing with his younger brother and feeling guilt for injuring him, which (somehow) led to Wilson not choosing his brother for a Cabinet position due to a subconscious desire to inflict pain as an adult onto his sibling that he couldn’t have done as a child. This is ultimately not a historically accurate book, not a psychologically rich analysis, and remains only somewhat readable because of its unintended comedic value.

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting bio of President Wilson that delves into his psychological profile going back to childhood by Sigmund Freud and Ambassador Bullitt. This book viewed Wilson through the eyes that everyone is bisexual and therefore the men who were close to Wilson were loved deeply (no, the book did not imply, hint or rumor of sexual daliances and stated that he went to bed with only 2 in his life-his two wives), that Wilson viewed himself as a Christ-like leader and that those who opposed him were all Judas. There were many who he came to feel as Judas and this led to his last few years of life without any long term friends.

An interesting book that went into the WWI Peace process and before that, his rise to the presidency, the governorship of New Jersey, the presidency of Princeton and more.

It went into great detail how sickly he was his entire life. We all know about his his stroke while president, but he had numerous nervous breakdowns and other ailments that, if he ran today, would block his being considered for the White House.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating for its novelty; proof that Freud was allowed to write on anything. Essentially a biography told through tracing Wilson's libido. While there is lots of interesting archival work that brings to light serious facts about Wilson, the psychoanalytic framework is a bit much, and at times felt contrived -- almost pseudoscientific. Really a normal (short) biography with interesting stuff but told through the lens of rigid psychoanalytic labels and buzzwords that sometimes got in the way, forcing us to interpret Wilson's drives in one particular way.

[Jon Walgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. As much of it was written by Sigmund Freud, it sure was useful that I read 'Freud's Introduction to Psychoanalysis" nearly 60 years ago. Freud and Bullitt's finding confirm much work which I had read in various other historical tomes. Poor 'Little Tommy.'

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is much here that one finds only in little snippets elsewhere when reading about Wilson the president, the man, the husband. It is a scathing report on what the authors believe to be very deep faults in this president, and how these faults drove him unmercifully. Makes one wish that all potential presidents could be analyzed before being allowed into office ... or maybe not. A disturbing book by Sigmund Freud and a lesser-known co-author.

[Jerry Bunin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find Freudian literary interpretations to be more comical than insightful. So I wouldn't say this book is worth your time. I read it because my wife had a copy and discussed it with me when I was reading the really weird and bizarrely told biography mentioned above by Edmund Morris. And I think Woodrow Wilson is a very overrated president. So just skip him entirely. Read another book about Washington, Lincoln or Grant. All far more interesting men with more fascinating lives

[RK Byers · Rating 5 out of 5]

as nutty as Freud was, it literally amazes me that he was legally allowed to do psychological studies on anybody!

[P.J. Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claims that Woodrow Wilson had fourteen nervous breakdowns. A collaborative work of Sigmund Freud and William C. Bullitt.

[Jeff Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woodrow Wilson as a hero of this country? How did that delusion ever com to pass?

[Ali Amiri · Rating 1 out of 5]

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