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'''Arthur S. Link''' (1922-1998) was a leading American historian and editor, specializing in the era of [[Woodrow Wilson]]. Born in rural North Carolina to a German Lutheran family, he graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he received a B.A. in 1941 and a Ph.D. in 1945.  Link taught at Princeton University  (1945-1949 and 1960–92), and Northwestern University (1949–60).  He directed numerous PhD dissertations including those of  William Harbaugh (who worked on Theodore Roosevelt); Gerald Grob (who studied mental health); and [[George McGovern]] (who wrote labor history and whom Link supported when he was the 1972 Democratic candidate for President.)   

'''Arthur S. Link''' (1922-1998) was a leading American historian and editor, specializing in the era of [[Woodrow Wilson]]. Born in rural North Carolina to a German Lutheran family, he graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he received a B.A. in 1941 and a Ph.D. in 1945.  Link taught at Princeton University  (1945-1949 and 1960–92), and Northwestern University (1949–60).  He directed numerous PhD dissertations including those of  William Harbaugh (who worked on Theodore Roosevelt); Gerald Grob (who studied mental health); and [[George McGovern]] (who wrote labor history and whom Link supported when he was the 1972 Democratic candidate for President.)   

He was the leading specialist on [[Woodrow Wilson]], with a five volume biography of Wilson (to the start of the [[World War I|First World War]]); he edited all 68 volumes of Wilson's papers. Although he wrote numerous textbooks he concentrated his scholarship on the politics and diplomacy of the decade 1910-1920. As a historian of the [[Progressive Era]] Link made three major contributions. First was to stress the importance of progressivism in the South (a theme first developed by [[C. Vann Woodward]] and the importance of the South to progressivism nationally. By seeing Wilson as a southerner with a Southern base, he broadened the scope of the politics of progressivism. Secondly he located the heart of progressivism in [[Theodore Roosevelt]]'s [[New Nationalism]] platform of 1912, and '''not''' in Wilson's [[New Freedom]]. The point was that Wilson was a conservative until 1913 when he suddenly accepted the core values of Roosevelt's proposals to use the federal government to reform the economy. Third Link argues progressivism collapsed after World War I because of internecine conflicts among reformers and uncertainties about how to pursue their agendas further. They ran out of ideas and left the field to [[Warren G. Harding]]. Nevertheless he also argued that progressivism was stronger in the 1920s than was generally acknowledged and that the underground currents formed the heart of the New Deal in the 1930s.<ref>Cooper 2000; Link 1959</ref>   

He was the leading specialist on [[Woodrow Wilson]], with a five volume biography of Wilson (to the start of the [[World War I|First World War]]); he edited all 68 volumes of Wilson's papers. Although he wrote numerous textbooks he concentrated his scholarship on the politics and diplomacy of the decade 1910-1920. As a historian of the [[Progressive Era]] Link made three major contributions. First was to stress the importance of progressivism in the South (a theme first developed by [[C. Vann Woodward]] and the importance of the South to progressivism nationally. By seeing Wilson as a southerner with a Southern base, he broadened the scope of the politics of progressivism. Secondly he located the heart of progressivism in [[Theodore Roosevelt]]'s [[New Nationalism]] platform of 1912, and '''not''' in Wilson's [[New Freedom]]. The point was that Wilson was a conservative until 1913 when he suddenly accepted the core values of Roosevelt's proposals to use the federal government to reform the economy. Third Link argues progressivism collapsed after World War I because of internecine conflicts among reformers and uncertainties about how to pursue their agendas further. They ran out of ideas and left the field to [[Warren G. Harding]]. Nevertheless, he also argued that progressivism was stronger in the 1920s than was generally acknowledged and that the underground currents formed the heart of the New Deal in the 1930s.<ref>Cooper 2000; Link 1959</ref>   

As Link delved into the manuscripts he changed his mind, but he usually did not try to rewrite his books. The one exception was ''Woodrow Wilson: Revolution, War, and Peace'' (1979) (a revision of ''Wilson the Diplomatist''). He softened his criticism of Wilson's responses to the Mexican revolution and German submarine warfare and gave the president higher marks as a war leader and articulator of war aims in the Fourteen Points.  Link had previously stated that Wilson would have taken the same unbending stand against ratification of the Versailles Treaty with [[Henry Cabot Lodge]]'s reservations if he had enjoyed perfect health. In the revision he stressed Wilson's deteriorating cardiovascular condition and massive stroke. The medical deterioration made it hard for Wilson to compromise with Lodge and explains in part his earlier actions at the peace conference and his dealings with the Senate over the treaty.  Link incorporated his new ideas in elaborate notes in his edition of the ''Papers.'' At one point Link was attacked by some scholars for his medical interpretation of Wilson; Link expected more support from Princeton and the funding agencies than they provided. The long relationship ended on a sour note as Princeton marginalized his Wilson Papers project.<ref>Cooper (2000) p 118</ref>

As Link delved into the manuscripts he changed his mind, but he usually did not try to rewrite his books. The one exception was ''Woodrow Wilson: Revolution, War, and Peace'' (1979) (a revision of ''Wilson the Diplomatist''). He softened his criticism of Wilson's responses to the Mexican revolution and German submarine warfare and gave the president higher marks as a war leader and articulator of war aims in the Fourteen Points.  Link had previously stated that Wilson would have taken the same unbending stand against ratification of the Versailles Treaty with [[Henry Cabot Lodge]]'s reservations if he had enjoyed perfect health. In the revision he stressed Wilson's deteriorating cardiovascular condition and massive stroke. The medical deterioration made it hard for Wilson to compromise with Lodge and explains in part his earlier actions at the peace conference and his dealings with the Senate over the treaty.  Link incorporated his new ideas in elaborate notes in his edition of the ''Papers.'' At one point Link was attacked by some scholars for his medical interpretation of Wilson; Link expected more support from Princeton and the funding agencies than they provided. The long relationship ended on a sour note as Princeton marginalized his Wilson Papers project.<ref>Cooper (2000) p 118</ref>