Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson
Portrait, 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 Landey 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
Spouses	Ellen Axson ​ ​ (m. 1885; died 1914)​ Edith Bolling ​ (m. 1915)​
Children	Margaret Jessie Eleanor
Parents	Joseph Ruggles Wilson Jessie Janet Woodrow
Alma mater	Princeton University (AB) Johns Hopkins University (PhD)
Occupation	Academic politician
Awards	Nobel Peace Prize (1919)
Signature
Scientific career
Fields	Political science
Institutions	Princeton University Johns Hopkins University
Thesis	Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics (1886)
Woodrow Wilson's voice On democratic principles Recorded August 7, 1912

This article is part of a series about Woodrow Wilson
Early life Boyhood home South Carolina home President of Princeton University New Jersey gubernatorial election 28th President of the United States Presidency Timeline First term 1912 presidential election Convention Transition 1st inauguration Foreign policy Women's suffrage Woman Suffrage Procession The New Freedom Silent Sentinels Federal Reserve Act Clayton Antitrust Act Federal Trade Commission United States occupation of Veracruz Pancho Villa Expedition Coalfield War Daylight saving time Banana Wars Louis Brandeis Supreme Court nomination Second term 1916 presidential election Convention 2nd inauguration 18th Amendment 19th Amendment World War I Foreign policy 1917-1921 Zimmermann Telegram Thrasher incident Entry into war Against Austria-Hungary Against Germany American home front Espionage Act Fourteen Points Wilsonian Armenia Paris Peace Conference Big Four Treaty of Versailles League of Nations Judicial appointments Supreme Court Wilson and race relations Wilson House Princeton School of Public and International Affairs Wilson Center Presidential Library Wilsonianism
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Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of Princeton University and as the governor of New Jersey before winning the 1912 presidential election. As president, Wilson changed the nation's economic policies and led the United States into World War I in 1917. He was the leading architect of the League of Nations, and his progressive stance on foreign policy came to be known as Wilsonianism.

Born in Staunton, Virginia, Wilson grew up in the Southern United States during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. After earning a Ph.D. in history and political science from Johns Hopkins University, Wilson taught at several colleges prior to being appointed president of Princeton University, where he emerged as a prominent spokesman for progressivism in higher education. Wilson served as governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913, during which he broke with party bosses and won the passage of several progressive reforms. Wilson defeated incumbent Republican William Howard Taft and third-party nominee Theodore Roosevelt to easily win the 1912 United States presidential election, becoming the first Southerner to do so since 1848.

During his first year as president, Wilson authorized the widespread imposition of segregation inside the federal bureaucracy and his opposition to women's suffrage drew protests. His first term was largely devoted to pursuing passage of his progressive New Freedom domestic agenda. His first major priority was the Revenue Act of 1913, which began the modern income tax, and the Federal Reserve Act, which created the Federal Reserve System. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the U.S. declared neutrality as Wilson tried to negotiate a peace between the Allied and Central Powers. He narrowly won re-election in 1916. In April 1917, Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany in response to its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare that sank American merchant ships. Wilson concentrated on diplomacy, issuing the Fourteen Points that the Allies and Germany accepted as a basis for post-war peace. He wanted the off-year elections of 1918 to be a referendum endorsing his policies, but instead, the Republicans took control of Congress. After the Allied victory in November 1918, Wilson attended the Paris Peace Conference. Wilson successfully advocated for the establishment of a multinational organization, the League of Nations, which was incorporated into the Treaty of Versailles that he signed, but back home he rejected a Republican compromise that would have allowed the Senate to ratify the Versailles Treaty and join the League.

Wilson had intended to seek a third term in office but had a stroke in October 1919 that left him incapacitated. His wife and his physician controlled Wilson, and no significant decisions were made. Meanwhile, his policies alienated German- and Irish-American Democrats and the Republicans won a landslide in the 1920 presidential election. Scholars have generally ranked Wilson in the upper tier of U.S. presidents, although he has been criticized for supporting racial segregation. His liberalism nevertheless lives on as a major factor in American foreign policy, and his vision of national self-determination resonates globally to this day.