Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president who served
in office between the years 1913-1921. He came from a religious background, his father being a Presbyterian
Minister and his mother the daughter of a minister. Wilson was born in Virginia
in 1856 and grew up in Augusta, Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina. After he graduated from Princeton University
in 1879, he went on to University of Virginia to study Law. Wilson briefly practiced law in Atlanta
Georgia, then received his doctorate in Political Science from John Hopkins
University in 1886. He later became the only
president to earn a PhD. He was teaching
in a couple of colleges before being hired by Princeton in 1890 as a professor
of jurisprudence and politics. He stayed in academia as the president of
Princeton University between the years of 1902 to 1910. Wilson developed a national reputation for
his educational reform policies.
Woodrow Wilson nationally gained the reputation of a
progressive reformer after he became the governor of New Jersey in 1910. In
1912, he won the nomination of the Democratic Party for president. Thanks to a divided Republican Party, Wilson
won the presidency by a landslide. He
was sworn in at the age of 56 in 1913 and immediately pursued his progressive
reform agenda. He believed in regulating banks, and monitoring credit and money supply through the establishment of the
Federal Reserve. He also helped
establish the Federal Trade Commission to ensure fair business practices.
Among other accomplishments are the eight hour work day and the establishment of
child labor laws.
The biggest event during his presidency was WWI in
1914. Wilson managed to keep the United
States out of the European war for a while, by not reacting forcefully to the
first German attack that resulted in American casualties. He warned, however, that any future attacks
would not go unpunished. This helped Wilson run for a second term in 1916 on the
slogan, "He kept us out of war." In 1917 another German provocation pushed Wilson into the war, and he asked congress for war authorization in order to
“make the world safe for democracy.” The entry of the American in WWI helped
bring about a victory for the Allies and the signing of the peace Treaty of Versailles. The treaty included the blue print to
establish the League of Nations which should resolve world problems without
war.
President Wilson championed the cause of the League and went
on a tour around the country to rally the American people for support, so he could overcome Republican opposition to the joining of the League. He fell ill on his tour. Later, Wilson was granted the Nobel Prize for peace to reward and acknowledge his efforts, although the U.S. did not join the League. Another monumental accomplishment during Wilson's tenure
was the passage of the 19th Amendment which allowed women to vote. He also vetoed the Prohibition Law, but
two-third's majority over-rode the veto and it became law.
By looking at Wilson’s biography I was reminded of how the
issues he championed back then have had a huge and very tangible effect on our life
today. For example, the consequence of the removal of Anti-Trust Laws and bank regulation, which Wilson enforced and strengthened, are felt
today by many in the country and the world as a result of 2008 financial
melt-down.
My question is, after writing this, can anybody think of more ways in which the ideals Wilson championed effect us today?
Another question I have always had about Wilson (though unrelated to the question above) is how he managed to keep the United States out of WWI for so long. Does anybody have anything to contribute to the understanding of this feat?
The American Pageant Textbook
Good work Sami a very interesting post, the biggest thing that I would say Wilson did I read in a book a few weeks ago. As a president, he basically stated that our freedom of speech could be nullified during a time of war if we spoke out against America. Do I think this is just absolutely not but this is a proposed idea that he implemented that sticks with us to this day.
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