Woodrow Wilson

Dr. Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th President of the United States (1913–1921). Initially an academician, he served as President of Princeton University and was the 45th state Governor of New Jersey (1911–1913). He was the second Democrat to serve two consecutive terms in the White House, the first having been Andrew Jackson, and his terms in office spanned his country's involvement in World War I.

Presidency

In the presidential election of 1912, the Democratic Party nominated Wilson{{ref|nomination}} as its presidential candidate—even though Champ Clark was widely expected to get the nomination. William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt split the Republican Party by running against each other, allowing Wilson's victory.

Related Topics:
Presidential election of 1912 - Democratic Party - Champ Clark - William Howard Taft - Theodore Roosevelt - Republican Party

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the day before Wilson's inauguration in March 1913, members of the Congressional Union, later known as the National Women's Party, organized a suffrage parade in Washington, D.C., to siphon attention away from inaugural events. It is said that when Wilson arrived in town, he found the streets empty of welcoming crowds and was told that everyone was on Pennsylvania Avenue watching the parade.

Related Topics:
March - 1913 - Congressional Union - National Women's Party - Suffrage - Washington, D.C. - Pennsylvania Avenue

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wilson experienced early success by implementing his "New Freedom" pledges of antitrust modification, tariff revision, and reform in banking and currency matters. His actions led to the establishment of the Federal Reserve System and Federal Trade Commission.

Related Topics:
Antitrust - Tariff - Federal Reserve System - Federal Trade Commission

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Suffrage was only one of the volatile issues Wilson faced during his presidency; until Wilson announced his support for the suffrage amendment because it was a good political move, a group of women calling themselves the Silent Sentinels protested in front of the White House, holding banners such as "Mr. President—What will you do for woman suffrage?" Domestically, his measures for reform often met with opposition, although he did succeed in passing a bill instituting the Federal Reserve.

Related Topics:
Suffrage amendment - Silent Sentinels - White House - Federal Reserve

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wilson's attitude on racial issues is generally regarded as a stain on his reputation; many argue that he was instrumental in shaping the worst period of racism in American history. His administration instituted segregation in federal government for the first time since Abraham Lincoln began desegregation in 1863, and required photographs from job applicants to determine their race. Wilson also regarded those whom he termed "hyphenated Americans" (German-Americans, Irish-Americans, etc.) with suspicion: "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready."

Related Topics:
The worst period of racism in American history - Segregation - Abraham Lincoln - 1863 - Hyphenated Americans

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wilson's "History of the American People" is repeatedly quoted in the notoriously racist film The Birth of a Nation, which glorifies the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in resistance to Radical Republican Reconstruction. The film was based on a trilogy by Wilson's classmate Thomas Dixon, whose stated goal was "to revolutionize northern sentiment by a presentation of history that would transform every man in my audience into a good Democrat!" Wilson saw the film in a special White House screening on February 18, 1915, and director D.W. Griffith reported to the press that Wilson had exclaimed, "It is like writing history with lightning, and my only regret is that it is all so terribly true."{{ref|lightning}} The statement was widely reported and immediately controversial. In subsequent correspondence with Griffith, Wilson discussed Griffith's filmmaking enthusiastically, without challenging the accuracy of the quote. Given the film's strong Democratic partisan message and Wilson's documented views on race, it is not unreasonable to interpret the statement as supporting the Klan, and the word "regret" as referring to the film's depiction of Reconstruction. Wilson tried to remain aloof from the controversy, but finally, on April 30, issued a non-denial denial.{{ref|non-denial}} Wilson's endorsement of the film's factual accuracy carried great weight and added to its popularity. The film in turn was one of the main factors that led, in the same year, to the reorganization (at Stone Mountain, Georgia) of the Ku Klux Klan, which had been dormant since it was outlawed in the 1870s.

Related Topics:
The Birth of a Nation - Radical Republican - Reconstruction - Thomas Dixon - D.W. Griffith - Stone Mountain - Ku Klux Klan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the last year of his first term Wilson assembled an impressive record of legislation, borrowing much from Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 platform. Wilson signed the Federal Farm Loan Act, which lowered interest rates for farmers. The Farm Loan Act immediately lowered interest rates and farmers hailed it as "the Magna Carta of American farm finance." Wilson aggressively and successfully lobbied on Capitol Hill for the Keating-Owen Act, which banned child labor, the Kern-McGillicuddy Act, which set up a workmen's compensation system, and the Adamson Act, which improved conditions and wages for railroad workers. To prepare for the possibility of entering the war, Wilson expanded the army and navy with an estate tax and tax on high incomes. (To End All Wars, 90–92)

Related Topics:
Federal Farm Loan Act - Interest rate - Magna Carta - Keating-Owen Act - Child labor - Kern-McGillicuddy Act - Workmen's compensation - Adamson Act - Army - Navy - Estate tax

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wilson was able to narrowly win reelection in 1916 by picking up many votes that had gone with Roosevelt and Eugene V. Debs in 1912.

Related Topics:
Reelection in 1916 - Eugene V. Debs

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wilson spent 1914, 1915, 1916, and the beginning of 1917 trying to keep America out of the War in Europe. He offered to be a mediator, but neither the Allies nor the Central Powers took his requests seriously. When Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare and made a clumsy attempt to get Mexico on its side in the Zimmerman Note, Wilson took America into the Great War as an "associated belligerent."

Related Topics:
1914 - 1915 - 1916 - 1917 - War in Europe - Allies - Central Powers - Germany - Submarine - Mexico - Zimmerman Note - Great War

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wilson pushed the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 through Congress to suppress socialist, anti-British, pro-Irish, pro-German, or anti-war opinions. He also set up the United States Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel (thus its popular name, Creel Committee), which filled the country with anti-German propaganda and, during the first Red Scare, ordered the Palmer Raids against leftists. Wilson had the socialist leader and Presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs arrested for attributing World War I to financial interests and criticizing the Espionage Act. Additionally, Wilson supported the American Protective League, a private pro-war organization notorious for its flagrant violations of American civil liberties.

Related Topics:
Espionage Act of 1917 - Sedition Act of 1918 - United States Committee on Public Information - George Creel - Red Scare - Palmer Raids - Leftist - Eugene V. Debs - American Protective League - Civil liberties

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Between 1914 and 1918 the United States invaded or intervened in Latin America many times, particularly in Mexico, Haiti, Cuba, and Panama. The U.S. maintained troops in Nicaragua throughout his administration and used them to select the president of Nicaragua and then to force Nicaragua to pass the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty. American troops in Haiti forced the Haitian legislature to choose the candidate Wilson selected as Haitian president. After Haiti refused to declare war on Germany, Wilson had Haiti's government dissolved and then forced a new, less democratic constitution on Haiti through a sham referendum. American soldiers also expelled small farmers from their lands to work in chain gangs on public works projects and transferred the land to plantation owners. In 1919, Haitians rose up in rebellion against the Americans, resulting in 3,000 deaths. Gleijesus (1992) argues: "It is not that Wilson failed in his earnest efforts to bring democracy to these little countries. He never tried. He intervened to impose hegemony, not democracy."

Related Topics:
1914 - 1918 - Invaded - Latin America - Haiti - Cuba - Panama - Nicaragua - Bryan-Chamorro Treaty - Referendum - Chain gang - Plantation - 1919 - Hegemony - Democracy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Between 1917 and 1920 the U.S. supported the "White" side of the Russian civil war, first monetarily, but later with a naval blockade and ground forces in Murmansk, Archangelsk, and Vladivostok.

Related Topics:
1920 - White - Russian civil war - Murmansk - Archangelsk - Vladivostok

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

World War I

Wilson had promised to keep the United States neutral in World War I, which contributed to his popular re-election in 1916. However in 1917 he officially decided that the United States should enter the conflict. A formal declaration of war against Germany was made on April 6, 1917, followed by a declaration of war against Austria-Hungary on December 7.

Related Topics:
World War I - Re-election in 1916 - Germany - April 6 - 1917 - Austria-Hungary - December 7

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After the Great War, Wilson participated in negotiations with the stated aim of assuring statehood for formerly oppressed nations and an equitable peace. On January 8, 1918, Wilson made his famous Fourteen Points address, introducing the idea of a League of Nations, an organization with a stated goal of helping preserve territorial integrity and political independence among large and small nations alike.

Related Topics:
January 8 - 1918 - Fourteen Points - League of Nations

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Post-War

Wilson intended the Fourteen Points as a means toward ending the war and achieving an equitable peace for all the nations. He sailed for Versailles on December 4, 1918 for the 1919 Paris Peace Conference (making him the first U.S. president to travel to Europe while in office), where he worked tirelessly to promote his plan. In an effort to gain French support for the League, Wilson ordered U.S. Marines to stop the German delegation from entering the conference. The charter of the proposed League of Nations was incorporated into the conference's Treaty of Versailles, but most of the other Fourteen Points fell by the wayside.

Related Topics:
Fourteen Points - Versailles - December 4 - 1918 - 1919 - Paris Peace Conference - Europe - French - Treaty of Versailles

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For his peacemaking efforts, Wilson was awarded the 1920 Nobel Peace Prize. Receiving the award was bittersweet, however, because he was unable to convince Congressional opponents, such as Henry Cabot Lodge, to support the resolution endorsing U.S. entry into the League. United States membership, Wilson believed, was essential to ensuring lasting world peace. The Versailles settlement also led to economic devastation in Germany that led to the under consumption problems leading to the Great Depression. Opponents of Wilson believed that by supporting the Versailles Settlement, which was actually a series of treaties, they would create economic devastation.

Related Topics:
1920 - Nobel Peace Prize - Henry Cabot Lodge - Great Depression

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Incapacity

On September 25, 1919, Wilson suffered a mild stroke that went unannounced to the public. A week later, on October 2, Wilson suffered a second, far more serious stroke that almost totally incapacitated him. Although the extent of his disability was kept from the public until after his death, Wilson was purposely kept out of the presence of Vice President Thomas R. Marshall, his cabinet or Congressional visitors to the White House for the remainder of his presidential term.

Related Topics:
September 25 - 1919 - Stroke - October 2 - Vice President - Thomas R. Marshall - Cabinet - White House

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Barry, in The Great Influenza, has theorized that Wilson's predisposition to those strokes was a complication from the lethal pandemic of influenza in 1919, which sometimes affected the brain.

Related Topics:
John Barry - Influenza

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While Wilson was incapacitated, his second wife, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, served as steward, selecting issues for his attention and delegating other issues to his cabinet heads. This was to date the most serious case of presidential disability in American history, and was cited as a key example why ratification of the 25th amendment was seen as important. The amendment, which provides for installation of the Vice President as Acting President in case of presidential disability, was ratified in 1967.

Related Topics:
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson - 25th amendment - Vice President - Acting President - 1967

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1921, Wilson and his wife retired from the White House to a home in the Embassy Row section of Washington, D.C. Wilson died there on February 3, 1924. He was buried in Washington National Cathedral. Mrs. Wilson stayed in the home another 37 years, dying on December 28, 1961.

Related Topics:
1921 - Embassy Row - February 3 - 1924 - Washington National Cathedral - December 28 - 1961

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cabinet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Major presidential acts

• Signed Revenue Act of 1913
• Signed Federal Reserve Act of 1913
• Signed Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916
• Signed Espionage Act of 1917
• Signed Sedition Act of 1918

Supreme Court appointments

Wilson appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• James Clark McReynolds (1914)
• Louis Dembitz Brandeis (1916)
• John Hessin Clarke (1916)

Trivia

Both of the Republican nominees that Wilson defeated, William Howard Taft (1912) and Charles Evans Hughes (1916), would go on to serve as Chief Justice of the United States.

Related Topics:
William Howard Taft - 1912 - Charles Evans Hughes - 1916 - Chief Justice of the United States

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~