The person in question is Woodrow Wilson:
He was the president of the United States from 1913 to 1921, which means that he was the president before, during and after the First World War.
He was very active in the peace process after the war, including proposing the formation of the League of Nations.
The main reason would be because so many of them had already died fighting against the British.
I don't think that your past should be affected by your future. This is because your past start by pointing out that your ability to envision the future is influenced by your memory from the past. This is because, you tend to use memories of past experiences to predict what your life will be like in the future. It is easier to use your memories when the future you are predicting is very close in time.
