Myriad works detail the impact of Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy on both the United States and the wider world, though none so far has considered its relationship with the US Left. Making the World Safe for Workers is Elizabeth McKillen’s ambitious attempt to fill this gap in the Wilsonian discourse, in which she argues that despite Wilson believing cooperation between US and international labour movements to be “critical” to the success of his vision, excepting the core of the American Fede..

Williams, Tomos Ifan

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European journal of American studies  
Reviews 2015-1
Elizabeth McKillen. Making the World Safe for
Workers: Labor, the Left, and Wilsonian
Internationalism.
Tomos Ifan Williams
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ISSN: 1991-9336
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Elizabeth McKillen. Making the
World Safe for Workers: Labor, the
Left, and Wilsonian
Internationalism.
Tomos Ifan Williams
1 Myriad works detail the impact of Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy on both the United
States and the wider world, though none so far has considered its relationship with the
US Left. Making the World Safe for Workers is Elizabeth McKillen’s ambitious attempt to fill
this gap in the Wilsonian discourse, in which she argues that despite Wilson believing
cooperation  between US  and international  labour  movements  to  be  “critical”  to  the
success of his vision, excepting the core of the American Federation of Labour (AFL), few
labour activists world over wholly accepted his internationalist agenda (1). One need only
recall  recent vocal  opposition to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
(TTIP) to appreciate the continuing interconnectedness of the working class and foreign
policy, yet working class movements rarely figure into works of diplomatic history. This
makes McKillen’s book a refreshing study not only for its content, but also for what it
seeks to achieve in presenting an answer to the pertinent yet oft ignored question of how
foreign policy and labour should coincide. 
2
No stranger to the history of the American Left, McKillen calls upon a decade of
research to compile this skilful synthesis. The introduction succinctly sets out McKillen’s
main arguments, which then proceeds to outline the four thematic sections that make up
the book’s form. The first section analyses the Left’s response to Wilson’s first major
foreign policy dealing, the Mexican Revolution; here, McKillen sets the tone for the rest of
the book by painting a picture of a President indifferent to leftist  disapproval  of  his
actions. Wilson’s preference for executive supremacy in foreign affairs is brought to light,
alienating him from the Socialist Party and organized American labour from the outset,
which  logically  favoured  more  democratic  diplomacy.  The  labour  lens  with  which
Elizabeth McKillen. Making the World Safe for Workers: Labor, the Left, and W...
European journal of American studies , Reviews 2015-1
1
McKillen analyses Wilson’s actions in Mexico allows her to reveal the hypocrisies of his
foreign policy  in  a  way that  traditional  diplomatic histories  fail  to  do.  For  example,
Wilson claimed that  his  interventions  in  Mexico  were  initiated  to  help  the  Mexican
people,  yet  in  reality  they  merely  protected  American  economic  interests  there.  An
augury of the relationship that followed, from the American Left it was only the AFL that
“took Wilson’s rhetoric at face value” and accepted such empty statements (49).
3
The second section moves on to the tense period of US neutrality and discusses
the Socialist Party’s reaction to US neutrality and preparedness. This history is already
well  established—Socialist Party historians such as David Shannon have discussed the
significance of the Party’s opposition to US involvement for some time—and McKillen
introduces little in the way of new interpretation on the matter; however, what does
emerge  through  these  chapters  is  the  rise  of  the  AFL  President,  Samuel  Gompers.
Gompers is of primary importance in the book, as he is the chief link between President
Wilson and the labour movement. It is shown here how his complementary views on the
Mexican Revolution and regarding the anti-war faction of the Socialist Party initiated his
ascendancy to Wilson’s de facto labour representative. 
4
With the Socialist Party overwhelmingly opposed to preparedness, Wilson was
able to use Gompers to garner working class support; numerous high-level appointments
easily  ensured  his  compliance.  As  the  US  moved  towards  belligerency,  however,
acquiescence within the ranks of the AFL and organized labour in general was far less
certain.  In  section  three,  McKillen  utilizes  several  organizations  as  case  studies  to
explicate the unrest in American labour movements both before and after US entry to the
war.  Four  disparate  groups,  The  Seattle  Central  Labor  Council  (96),  The  Chicago
Federation  of  Labor  (100),  The  United  Mine  Workers  of  America  (105)  and  the
International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (111) are shown to have strong anti-war
views for varying reasons, thus undermining Gompers’ pro-war representation. Wilson’s
brutal suppression of dissenting voices, largely from the Left, cements McKillen’s exposé
of Wilson’s rhetoric versus the reality of his policy. Whilst it is clear that Gompers lost the
“battle” for the sympathies of American workers—as demonstrated by the case studies—
he  nonetheless  “won  the  collective  ear  of  the  Wilson  administration,”  leaving  the
majority of the American working class without a voice (150).
5
The fourth section covers the aftermath of the war, arguably the most important
period in terms of Wilsonian global influence.  The ultimate failure of the Paris Peace
Conference and its peripheral summits to live up to Wilson’s lofty promises is explained
through the lens of transatlantic relations between the AFL and its European counterpart
organizations.  Opposition to  the labour  provisions  for  the  peace treaty  are  outlined,
further expounding Wilson’s apathy towards the Left. McKillen argues that Gompers had
a polarizing effect on the peace conference, much as he did on organized American labour
in general. Wilson is revealed to have utilized the AFL to promote his foreign policy yet
ultimately fail to incorporate labour bodies into any “actual policymaking circles” (184). 
6
The one effort that saw Wilson and the Left actually converge is detailed in the
final chapter, where McKillen elucidates the domestic deliberations that occurred over
Elizabeth McKillen. Making the World Safe for Workers: Labor, the Left, and W...
European journal of American studies , Reviews 2015-1
2
the ILO. During these strenuous debates opponents of the ILO eschewed the incremental
progress it promised owing to its inability to fully promote industrial democracy. 
7
Making the World Safe for Workers presents a compelling argument that maintains
that  Wilson’s  foreign policy in fact  made the world safe for capitalism,  not  workers.
Through interweaving diplomatic history that looks beyond Washington D.C.  with US
labour history, McKillen depicts the artificialities and contradictions of Wilson’s vision
and his relationship with the working class that are largely ignored by traditional Wilson
scholars.  Similarly,  Samuel Gompers is  exposed as an ultimately divisive force in the
movement,  having  achieved  little  of  worth  to  the  Left  despite  years  of  high-level
prominence. McKillen advances strong contentions that challenge dominant narratives,
such as the notion that despite initial theoretical support, significant divergences over
Wilson’s blueprints for the League of Nations meant that Socialist and Left groups in fact
spearheaded opposition to US entry and played a previously underappreciated role in
ensuring the US remained outside of it. 
8  As with any synthesis of this scope, there are unavoidably omissions. The impact of the
Espionage and Sedition Acts on Socialist, labour and Left movements, for example, seems
underemphasised,  though such judgements are understandable given the scale of  the
study. Stylistically, McKillen’s prose can be at times awkward and repetitive; individuals
are often re-introduced in different chapters and facts are repeated, impeding the book’s
readability. However, the depth and quality of research that adeptly intertwines race,
gender, and class considerations overshadows these stylistic weaknesses. Regardless of
such comments, McKillen’s text is a valuable addition to both the fields of US diplomatic
and labour history, and redresses the balance of many previously under-analysed aspects
of Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy.  
AUTHOR
TOMOS IFAN WILLIAMS
Leiden University
Elizabeth McKillen. Making the World Safe for Workers: Labor, the Left, and W...
European journal of American studies , Reviews 2015-1
3


Elizabeth McKillen. Making the World Safe for Workers: Labor, the Left, and Wilsonian Internationalism.

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Elizabeth McKillen. Making the World Safe for Workers: Labor, the Left, and Wilsonian Internationalism.

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