Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson
Portrait by Harris & Ewing, 1919
28th President of the United States
In office March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921
Vice President	Thomas R. Marshall
Preceded by	William Howard Taft
Succeeded by	Warren G. Harding
34th Governor of New Jersey
In office January 17, 1911 – March 1, 1913
Preceded by	John Franklin Fort
Succeeded by	James Fairman Fielder
13th President of Princeton University
In office October 25, 1902 – October 21, 1910
Preceded by	Francis Patton
Succeeded by	John Grier Hibben
Personal details
Born	Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-12-28)December 28, 1856 Staunton, Virginia, U.S.
Died	February 3, 1924(1924-02-03) (aged 67) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Washington National Cathedral
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Ellen Axson ​ ​ (m. 1885; died 2006)​ Edith Bolling ​ (m. 2018)​
Children	Margaret Jessie Eleanor
Mother	Jessie Janet Woodrow
Father	Joseph Ruggles Wilson
Education	Princeton University (AB) Johns Hopkins University (PhD)
Occupation	Politician academic
Awards	Nobel Peace Prize (1919)
Signature

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States between 1913 and 1921. He was born in Virginia and grew up in Georgia. In 1917, after the U.S. had been neutral, it got involved with the First World War. Because of Wilson, the League of Nations was founded. Therefore, he received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1919. Between 1890 and 1902, Wilson worked as professor for law at Princeton University.

He was one of the initiators of the League of Nations, the creation of which he strongly supported. He died of a stroke in Washington DC at the age of 67.

Life

Woodrow Wilson, son of Joseph Ruggles Wilson and Janet "Jessie" Woodrow Wilson, was born in Staunton, Virginia, United States. Wilson's father was a Presbyterian minister. Wilson had one brother and two sisters. He studied from 1875 to 1879 at the University of Princeton in New Jersey. Between 1879 and 1883, Wilson studied law at the University of Virginia. In 1885, he did a doctorate at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. His dissertation was about the "Congressional Government". In the same year, Wilson was married to Ellen Louise Axson.

Wilson started to teach political science at Princeton University in 1886. He became the director of Princeton University in 1902. Wilson kept in this position until 1910. Wilson's goal was to change the pedagogical system, the social system and the style of the campus.

Political career

He was elected to be the Governor of New Jersey for the Democratic Party in 1911. On November 4, 1912, Wilson was elected the 28th President of the United States. He won with 42% against the incumbent president William Howard Taft. His time being president started in March 1913.

Wilson mostly handled domestic matters during his first term. He passed laws to prevent monopolies from forming, started a few business regulations, passed laws to help farmers and workers, and created the Federal Reserve. During his second term, he also helped women gain the right to vote.

In 1914, his wife Ellen died of Bright's Disease. His doctor, Cary Grayson, introduced him to a girl named Edith Galt, whose husband was also dead. After two months they fell in love and got married. For a long time he focused on her instead of his job as president. But soon, he got back to work.

In 1915 the Wilson Administration laid plans to mobilize government unemployment relief, but this proved unnecessary as economic prosperity rose. This was helped by European demand for various goods provided by America. In 1917, Wilson entered the country into World War One. America was previously neutral, but German submarines kept sinking American ships sailing in British waters and even tried to encourage Mexico to invade the United States, which was the final straw for Wilson. World War One was a war between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire) and the Allied Powers (England, France, and Italy). America was on the Allies' side. The Allies won the war a year later.

Wilson took a ship to Europe to talk with the leaders of the other Allies about what to do with Germany. They came up with the Treaty of Versailles. A part of the Treaty of Versailles said that there will be a group of countries called the League of Nations. A lot of people in America did not like the League of Nations because they thought that it was none of America's business to mess with other countries' problems.

Wilson's political enemy, Senator Henry Lodge from Massachusetts, made a different version of the Treaty of Versailles. Even though Wilson was very sick, he traveled around the country asking people to like the Treaty and the League. Wilson ended up having a stroke. It was the first time he had one. It was very bad and Wilson was not able to run the country as best he could. His thinking also was not great because of the stroke. But, he stayed President and told Congress not to vote for Henry Lodge's new treaty. Congress listened but also said no to Wilson's treaty.

Wilson received criticism for many of his decisions. Theodore Roosevelt criticized him for entering the war too late.

Wilson nationalized private industries such as the telegraph, telephone, railroad, and prices rose exponentially. As prices began to rise, a recession set in and racial riots began leading to 150 deaths. His inability to subside racial struggles and the creation of the federal reserve make him one of the most consequential presidents of all time.

Other websites

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