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Wilson, Woodrow (1856—1923)

28th President of the United States

Woodrow Wilson served as president of the United States prior to and during World War I. Although remembered as an internationalist, Wilson initially worked to preserve the nation's neutrality, believing that intervention in Europe was not in U.S. interests. Indeed, he won reelection in 1916 on an antiwar platform epitomized by the slogan “he kept us out of the war.” The president had reversed this position by April 1917, when he asked Congress to declare war. The late entry into the conflict created a mobilization crisis, which Wilson overcame by expanding government control over society and the economy. President Wilson also saw the war as an opportunity to reshape the international political order, which he elaborated upon in the Fourteen Points. Wilson pursued this agenda at the Versailles Peace Conference, but was unable to persuade the Senate to ratify the treaty.

Early Life and Political Career

Wilson was born in 1856 in Virginia, the son of a Presbyterian minister. His father held assignments throughout the South, including stints in Georgia and South Carolina during the Civil War. Wilson would become the first Southerner elected to the presidency since 1860. At the time, Wilson was also one of the most highly educated men ever to hold the office. He completed his bachelor's degree from Princeton University, a law degree from the University of Virginia, and eventually his doctorate in political science from the Johns Hopkins University. After completing his education, Wilson embarked upon a career in academia, which culminated in the presidency of Princeton University in 1902.

Wilson began his career as a political and social conservative within the Democratic Party. He adhered to many traditional southern positions, including support for segregation and states' rights. His first public office was the governorship of New Jersey in 1910.

Wilson ran for president in 1912; the other two candidates were the Republican incumbent, President William Howard Taft, and Taft's predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, who was now affiliated with the Progressive Party. Ironically, all of these candidates claimed to be progressive, but their definitions of what that entailed were different. The campaign became a contest between two versions of progressivism: Wilson's New Freedom and Roosevelt's New Nationalism. Wilson prevailed, but both programs probably would have pursued similar agendas in regard to industrial regulation and social welfare.

Wilson's First Term

The Wilson Administration secured stricter antitrust legislation, oversaw the creation of the Federal Trade Commission, and passed needed income tax legislation to redistribute the tax burden away from property owners, such as farmers. A Federal Reserve Act created a national banking oversight board and a more elastic currency capable of promoting stability in the money system—and hence the economy. Wilson ordered a limited military intervention in the Mexican Revolution from 1914 to 1916, in an attempt to stabilize the country and steer it towards an American-style democracy. Many Mexicans resented American interference, believing that it was primarily motivated by a desire to protect its economic interests.

Wilson proclaimed American neutrality when war erupted in August 1914. He was disgusted with the European alliances, which he believed had fueled tensions between the major powers. The combination of new military technology and mass conscript armies resulted in a bloodbath. The war quickly turned into a stalemate on the Western Front; both sides were incurring heavy casualties that did little to resolve the conflict. Wilson, like many Americans, was more sympathetic to Britain and France; he abhorred the brutalities of German militarism, most evident in its violation of Belgium's neutrality. However, these concerns did not dissuade Wilson from following the nation's longstanding isolationist path. The majority of Americans agreed with the president's position, as evidenced by his reelection in 1916.

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