He further enforced anti-trust legislation in 1914 with the Clayton Antitrust Act, which supported labor unions, allowing for strikes, boycotts and peaceful picketing. Wilson was buried in the Washington National Cathedral. Wilson left a legacy of peace, social and financial reform, and statesmanship with integrity, which lives on at the many schools and programs named after him, most notably the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and his old alma mater, Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Some of Wilson's views on race first came to light during his time as university president. Throughout his presidency, Wilson fought for reforms with respect to labour laws, the rights of women, and international relations. Meanwhile, the publicity that Wilson had generated as Princeton’s president attracted the attention of conservative kingmakers in the Democratic Party, who offered him the 1910 nomination for governor of New Jersey. However, Theodore Roosevelt, Taft's predecessor, was disgruntled with his performance as president and launched a third-party run. Woodrow Wilson Biography Twenty-eighth President of the United States of America (1913-1921) Thomas Woodrow Wilson. The group was peaceful but soon turned violent, with many protesters arrested and thrown in jail. Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. Woodrow Wilson was an academic and politician who served as the two-term 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. He cycled regularly and was a very keen golfer. Political ambitions and university politics had transformed Wilson into a social Democrat, and he was tapped for the governorship of New Jersey in 1910. Wilson led his country into World War I and became the creator and leading advocate of the League of Nations, for which he was awarded the 1919 Nobel Prize for Peace. Wilson was appointed to teach at Bryn Mawr and Wesleyan. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Finally, on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified by a two-thirds majority of the states. The three were candidates in the 1912 election. ", Ann Wilson is best known as the vocalist for Heart, the rock band that became famous for songs like "Barracuda," "Crazy on You" and "What About Love.". Woodrow Wilson was born Thomas Woodrow Wilson on December 28, 1856, in Staunton, Virginia, USA, to Joseph Ruggles Wilson and Jessie Janet Woodrow. Admiration quickly deepened into a more profound relationship, and the two married in late December 1915. The first major biography of America’s twenty-eighth president in nearly two decades, from one of America’s foremost Woodrow Wilson scholars. At Princeton he blossomed intellectually, reading widely, engaging in debate, and editing the college newspaper. Wilson didn’t take too kindly to the criticism. Wilson was born on December 28, 1856, to Jessie Janet Woodrow and Joseph Ruggles Wilson, a Presbyterian minister. 702 pp. Former president Theodore Roosevelt’s bolt to the Progressive (Bull Moose) Party had split the dominant Republican Party, a factor that allowed Wilson to be elected with only 42 percent of the popular vote but with an electoral college landslide of 435 votes to Roosevelt’s 88 and William Howard Taft’s 8. Two years later he went to Princeton, where he quickly became the most popular and highest-paid faculty member. In 1902, he became the university's 13th president. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. At first, Wilson was outraged by the women’s conduct, but he was appalled to learn that some had gone on a hunger strike and were being force-fed by the police. Perhaps it was his Southern upbringing or perhaps he was just a product of his times when racial inequality was considered normal by most Americans. Woodrow Wilson is a surprisingly difficult person to get to know. Woodrow Wilson, in full Thomas Woodrow Wilson, (born December 28, 1856, Staunton, Virginia, U.S.—died February 3, 1924, Washington, D.C.), 28th president of the United States (1913–21), an American scholar and statesman best remembered for his legislative accomplishments and his high-minded idealism. Additionally, Edith was the first U.S. first lady to travel with a sitting president on a European goodwill tour. African Americans in the film (played mostly by white actors in black face) were portrayed as brutes. Wilson was the 28th president of the United States, serving two terms from 1913 to 1921. After leaving office in 1921, the Wilsons moved to a home in northwest Washington, D.C. Wilson died from a stroke and heart complications at the age of 67, on February 3, 1924. His domestic program expanded the role of the federal government in managing the economy and protecting the interests of citizens. PEACE AND WAR. Wilson was a professional academic before he became president. American football quarterback Russell Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks to victory in Super Bowl XLVIII. Updates? Stephen Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia, on December 28, 1856, the son of Joseph and Jeanie Wilson. Woodrow Wilson: A Biography This excellent biography offers a much-needed adjustment of Woodrow Wilson’s place in popular history. Woodrow Wilson was a founder member of the Presbyterian church in the US and was deeply religious. The couple moved on from the incident, however, and remained together. In late 1883, Wilson entered Johns Hopkins University, a new graduate institution in Baltimore modeled after German universities. Key events in the life of Woodrow Wilson. “Biography of Woodrow Wilson”, Oxford, www.biographyonline.net, Published 10 Sep 2012. Wilson briefly attended Davison University in North Carolina, but transferred to … John Milton Cooper's mature judgment and many years' study of Wilson and the Progressive era enrich this biography. Cooper is Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of nearly a dozen books, including “The Warrior and the Priest,” his 1983 comparative biography of Wilson and… He began his adult career as an academic, became President of Princeton University, was elected governor of New Jersey, and--finally--he was elected President of the United States. He replied that segregation was humiliating to Black workers because it made them feel they were not equals. In 1870, they moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where Wilson’s father taught at the Columbia Theological Seminary. He began his career teaching history and political science at Bryn Mawr College in 1885 and moved to Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 1888. (The "Great War" was also meant to be the last war.). Apparently dyslexic from childhood, Wilson did not learn to read until after he was 10 and never became a rapid reader. Fast and free shipping free returns cash on delivery available on eligible purchase. Perhaps the most telling account about Wilson’s racist attitude came from his own lips. Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856–February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. During his second term the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote, was passed and ratified. Served as President: 1913-1921 Vice President: Thomas Riley Marshall Party: Democrat Age at inauguration: 56 Born: December 28, 1856 in Staunton, Virginia Died: February 3, 1924 in Washington D.C. Married: Ellen Louise Axson Wilson and to Edith Bolling Galt Wilson Children: Margaret, Jesse, Eleanor During the last year of his presidency, Wilson suffered his second stroke and died three years after leaving office. By John Milton Cooper , Jr. New York : Alfred A. Knopf , 2009 . The couple had three daughters, and Wilson relied on Ellen a great deal for shared decision-making. Elected to four terms, his presidency helped ensure victory in World War II. Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president, led America through World War I and crafted the Versailles Treaty's "Fourteen Points," the last of which was creating a League of Nations to ensure world peace. He was inaugurated on March 4, 1913. “You have spoiled the whole cause for which you came.” Trotter tried to get the meeting back on track, saying, “I am pleading for simple justice.” If his tone seemed contentious, Trotter said, he had been misunderstood. The new president entered the White House just as the women’s suffrage movement was gaining full steam. Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. Admitting that he intended to conduct himself as a prime minister, he drew up a legislative program in advance, broke with previous presidential practice by appearing before Congress in person, and worked mainly … By John Milton Cooper, Jr. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Ellen was an educated woman; a cousin of hers had actually feared she’d never marry because he felt that “men didn’t like smart women.” But Wilson did. He graduated in 1879, thirty-eighth in his class of slightly over one hundred. Wilson was re-elected in 1916, defeating Republican Charles Evans Hughes by a fairly narrow margin. The first major biography of America’s twenty-eighth president in nearly two decades, from one of America’s foremost Woodrow Wilson scholars. Wilson went on to study law at the University of Virginia and earned his Ph.D. in political science and history at Johns Hopkins University. The family left Virginia before his second birthday, as his father successively held pastorates in Augusta, Georgia, and Wilmington, North Carolina, and taught at the Columbia Theological Seminary in South Carolina. Wilson upgraded the university both financially and intellectually, and he attempted far-reaching reforms of both undergraduate and graduate education. It was largely due to Wilson's efforts that the College of New Jersey evolved into the prestigious Princeton University. Wilson was driven by a sense of mission and an ideal his father had instilled in him to leave the world a better place than you found it. Wilson married Ellen Louise Axson on June 24, 1885, in Savannah, Georgia. Naturally enough, the Presbyterian church played a commanding role in the upbringing of “Tommy” Wilson. But it was his oratory skill that brought him renown beyond the university setting. He finally asked Congress to declare war in April 1917, when Germany repeatedly ignored U.S. neutrality and sunk American ships. He then went on to accuse the president of lying. He also approved the Federal Reserve Act, making loans more accessible to the average American. Woodrow Wilson was one of America's greatest Presidents. Prior to that, Wilson was the governor of New Jersey. A scrupulous scholar, Wilson’s books include a biography of George Washington and the five-volume History of the American People. Gretchen Wilson is a Grammy award-winning country singer known for her song "Redneck Woman. In 1917, a group of suffragists picketed outside the White House demanding Wilson’s support. Trotter had come to the White House with a contingent of people and a petition from 38 states containing 20,000 signatures protesting against segregating federal employees. After the private screening in the White House with Cabinet members and their families, Wilson is reported to have said, “It is like writing history with lightning, and my only regret is that it is all so terribly true.” Later, he reportedly called the film an “unfortunate production” and hoped the film would not be shown in Black communities. After presenting the petition, Trotter posed an accusing question asking whether Wilson’s new economic reform program was only for white Americans and African-Americans were going to be relegated to slavery. While adopted by Europe, Congress did not approve of the United States joining the League of Nations. While still an undergraduate, he published a scholarly essay that compared the American government with the British parliamentary system, a subject that he would develop further in his first book and apply in his own political career. When President Wilson suffered his second serious stroke in October 1919, Edith masked the severity of his illness, making decisions in his stead and becoming, undercover, what some historians term America's first female president. Wilson was the only president since Andrew Jackson to have a foreign-born parent. Since his father was a Presbyterian minister and his mother the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Woodrow was raised in a pious and academic household. Wilson proposed the "Fourteen Points" as the basis for the peace treaty at Versailles, with the last point being the creation of a League of Nations to ensure world peace. In several departments including Treasury, the Navy, and the Post Office, Jim Crow policies were implemented, instituting segregated toilets, cafeterias and even some “whites only” buildings. Wilson’s father, Joseph Ruggles Wilson, was a Presbyterian minister who had moved to Virginia from Ohio and was the son of Scotch-Irish immigrants; his mother, Janet Woodrow, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, had been born in England of Scottish parentage. Together with their allies in Congress, members of his administration rolled back many of the advancements African Americans had made in government employment since the Civil War. As president, Wilson saw America through World War I, negotiating the Treaty of Versailles and crafting the League of Nations, a precursor to the United Nations. Author of. Living in the South and witnessing the ravages of the Civil War up close, Wilson's father, a Northern transplant, adopted the Confederate cause. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1920 for his efforts. Wilson then commented that segregation was a benefit to African Americans and stated his policies were seeking “not to put Negro employees at a disadvantage” but to prevent friction between Black and White employees. These policies extended to other areas of the District as well. He was the third child, and first son of Reverend Joseph Ruggles Wilson and his wife, Janet “Jessie” Woodrow Wilson. His foreign policy established a new vision of America's role in the world. When he speaks in his true character, he speaks for no special interest.”. A widow herself, Edith met the grieving Wilson several months after the death of his first wife. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. He presided over ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote, and laws that prohibited child labour and that mandated an eight-hour workday for railroad workers. True helpmates, Wilson entrusted Edith with a secret code that accessed highly confidential war documents, and she often sat with him during Oval Office meetings. When the war was over, nearly a year and a half later, Americans were perceived as heroes. After the war, Wilson saw Confederate president Jefferson Davis march through Augusta in chains, and always remembered looking up into the face of the defeated General Robert E. Lee. He enrolled at nearby Davidson College but transferred to Princeton in 1875 (known as the College of New Jersey until 1896). Wilson made a partial recovery but spent his remaining years seriously disabled. Wilson spent his youth in the South observing the Civil War and its aftermath. Woodrow Wilson Biography. 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