Insinna Module One paper
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Southern New Hampshire University *
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330
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Political Science
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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docx
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Uploaded by andrea.insinna
Andrea Insinna
Professor Desjardin
PAD 330
30 June 2023
Woodrow Wilson’s Contribution to Public Administration
Prior to the presidency of the 28
th
president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson came
of age in the South during the Civil War. In 1875, Wilson left the South to enroll in the College
of New Jersey, now known as Princeton University. He entered the University of Virginia the
same year to study law. Wilson soon after abandoned the practice of law, bored as an attorney,
and enrolled in John Hopkins University to study political science (Ambar, n.d.). In 1886 Wilson
earned his PhD. Having knowledge in political science, Wilson criticized U.S. presidency as
weak post-Civil War and the congregational dominance of government. Wilson’s southern
childhood and northern education shaped his view on politics embracing segregationist policies
and Progressive Era belief in government (Woodrow Wilson House, n.d.). He would be the first
political leader to emphasize the need to increase government’s efficiency.
In 1887 Wilson published “The Study of Administration”, stating the objective of
administrative study was to discover what government can successfully do and how it can do
proper things with utmost efficiency and least possible cost in money and energy. He believed
administration was best served in a “business-like” fashion; while the government sets policies,
the administration takes these policies and enforces them in the real world (Kent State, 2018).
His definition of administration states that it is the most visible side of government in action.
Wilson was influenced by business administration wanting to remove the strife of politics from
civil service to ensure better methods of action. He wanted civil service to “clear the moral
atmosphere of official life by establishing the sanctity of public office as a public trust”, and by
making administration more business-like would improve its methods of work (Wilson, 1886).
Andrea Insinna
Professor Desjardin
PAD 330
30 June 2023
Woodrow Wilson’s study of history and politics contributed to the field of public
administration ensuring whoever holds authority in government or corporations is aware of their
responsibilities which require having much knowledge, wisdom, and experience. He had a belief
in a bureaucracy where skilled workers were chosen by their quality, not by loyalty to a political
party (Ohio University, 2020). Instituting this system as president, change to public
administration in the U.S. helped the bureaucracy become more efficient. This change also
launched public administration as a generic course and discipline of study.
At the time, politics-administration dichotomy was significant to divide governmental
authority between administrative and elected officials, giving administration its own separate
values and methods. The existence of politics-administration dichotomy allowed us to see the
potential of an administrative system carrying out its rules, developing its own management
models and methods. Efficiency is required in public administration to provide public goods and
services, and economy is needed to ensure the least cost-effective methods are used. These are
still relevant today to strengthen democracy, keep a responsive government in protecting the
peoples’ rights, and deliver proper services regardless of political affiliation.
Andrea Insinna
Professor Desjardin
PAD 330
30 June 2023
References:
Ambar, S. (n.d.).
WOODROW WILSON: LIFE BEFORE THE PRESIDENCY
. UVA Miller
Center.
https://millercenter.org/president/wilson/life-before-the-presidency
Kent State University (2018, August 21).
Woodrow Wilson: The Father of Public Administration
.
Kent State Online.
https://onlinedegrees.kent.edu/political-science/master-of-public-
administration/community/father-of-public-administration
Ohio University (2020, January 22).
Five Key Figures in the History of Public Administration
.
Ohio University Online.
https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/five-key-figures-in-the-
history-of-public-administration/
Wilson, W. (1886, November 1).
The Study of Administration
. Teaching American History.
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-study-of-administration/
Woodrow Wilson House (n.d.).
PRIOR TO THE PRESIDENCY
. President Wilson House.
https://woodrowwilsonhouse.org/wilson-topics/president-woodrow-wilson/
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