Woodrow Wilson
28th President of the United State
1856 CE to 1924 CE
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921.
A leader of the Progressive Movement, he serves as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913.
Running against Republican incumbent William Howard Taft and Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt, a former President, Wilson is elected President as a Democrat in 1912.
In his first term as President, Wilson persuades a Democratic Congress to pass major progressive reforms.
Historian John M. Cooper argues that, in his first term, Wilson successfully pushed a legislative agenda that few presidents have equaled, and remained unmatched up until the New Deal.
This agenda includes the Federal Reserve Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Farm Loan Act and an income tax.
Child labor is curtailed by the Keating–Owen Act of 1916, but the U.S. Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional in 1918.
He also has Congress pass the Adamson Act, which imposes an 8-hour workday for railroads.
Wilson, after first sidestepping the issue, becomes a major advocate for the women's suffrage.
Although Wilson promises African Americans 'fair dealing...in advancing the interests of their race in the United States" the Wilson administration implements a policy of racial segregation for federal employees.
Narrowly re-elected in 1916, he has full control of American entry into the First World War, and his second term centers on World War I and the subsequent peace treaty negotiations in Paris.
He bases his re-election campaign around the slogan, "He kept us out of war", but U.S. neutrality isi challenged in early 1917 when the German Empire begins unrestricted submarine warfare despite repeated strong warnings and tries to enlist Mexico as an ally.
In April 1917, Wilson asks Congress to declare war.
During the war, Wilson focuses on diplomacy and financial considerations, leaving the waging of the war itself primarily in the hands of the Army.
On the home front in 1917, he begins the United States' first draft since the American Civil War, borrows billions of dollars in war funding through the newly established Federal Reserve Bank and Liberty Bonds, sets up the War Industries Board, promotes labor union cooperation, supervises agriculture and food production through the Lever Act, takes over control of the railroads, and suppresses antiwar movements.
During his term in office, Wilson gives a well-known Flag Day speech that fuels the wave of anti-German sentiment sweeping the country in 1917–18.
In the late stages of the war, Wilson takes personal control of negotiations with Germany, including the armistice.
In 1918, he issues his Fourteen Points, his view of a postwar world that could avoid another terrible conflict.
In 1919, he goes to Paris to create the League of Nations and shape the Treaty of Versailles, with special attention on creating new nations out of defunct empires.
In 1919, Wilson engages in an intense fight with Henry Cabot Lodge and the Republican-controlled Senate over giving the League of Nations power to force the U.S. into a war.
Wilson collapses with a debilitating stroke that leaves his wife in control until he leaves office in March 1921.
The Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles, the U.S. never joins the League, and the Republicans win a landslide in 1920 by denouncing Wilson's policies.
An intellectual with very high writing standards, Wilson is a highly effective partisan campaigner as well as legislative strategist.
A Presbyterian of deep religious faith, Wilson appeals to a gospel of service and infuses a profound sense of moralism into his idealistic internationalism, now referred to as "Wilsonian".
Wilsonianism calls for the United States to enter the world arena to fight for democracy, and has been a contentious position in American foreign policy.
For his sponsorship of the League of Nations, Wilson is awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize.
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Woodrow Wilson exchanges his teaching position at Bryn Mawr for one at Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 1888.
Woodrow Wilson, who has become a popular lecturer at Princeton, had published his third book, entitled Division and Reunion, in 1893.
It will become a standard university textbook for teaching mid- and late- nineteenth century U.S. history.
In 1897, Houghton Mifflin publishes Wilson's biography on George Washington.
In February 1890, with the help of friends, Wilson had been elected by the Princeton University Board of Trustees to the Chair of Jurisprudence and Political Economy, at an annual salary of three thousand dollars (equivalent to $83,656 in 2018).
He quickly gained a reputation as a compelling speaker.
During his time as a professor at Princeton, he also delivered a series of lectures at Johns Hopkins, New York Law School, and Colorado College.
In 1896, Francis Landey Patton announced that Princeton would henceforth officially be known as Princeton University instead of the College of New Jersey, and he unveiled an ambitious program of expansion that included the establishment of a graduate school.
In the 1896 presidential election, Wilson rejected Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan and supported the conservative "Gold Democrat" nominee, John M. Palmer.
Wilson's academic reputation continues to grow throughout the 1890s, and he turns down positions at Johns Hopkins, the University of Virginia, and other schools because he wants to remain at Princeton.
Northeastern North America
(1912 to 1923 CE): World War, Social Change, and Economic Upheaval
The period from 1912 to 1923 in Northeastern North America was marked by profound global conflict, intense social transformation, significant economic upheavals, and ongoing political activism. These developments set the stage for the complex dynamics that shaped the region's trajectory throughout the twentieth century.
World War I and its Aftermath
The onset of World War I (1914–1918) dramatically impacted Northeastern North America. Initially neutral, the United States entered the conflict in 1917, significantly influencing its outcome. Canada's participation from the war's outset forged stronger national unity. The war spurred industrial growth as factories produced weapons, vehicles, and supplies, while urban centers became hubs for mobilization and recruitment.
Economic and Industrial Expansion
The war significantly accelerated industrial growth, stimulating production in steel, chemicals, and munitions. Cities like Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Boston saw significant expansions in manufacturing capacity. Labor shortages caused by wartime conscription led to increased employment opportunities for women and minorities, reshaping workplace dynamics and societal roles.
Social Movements and Cultural Changes
Social movements gained momentum as women fought for suffrage, culminating in the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, granting women the right to vote. The era also saw increased advocacy for labor rights, driven by unions and progressive activists striving for improved working conditions and wages. Notable labor actions included significant strikes in steel and textile industries.
Influenza Pandemic of 1918
The global influenza pandemic of 1918–1919 devastated the region, killing hundreds of thousands across Northeastern North America. Cities grappled with public health crises, overwhelmed healthcare facilities, and widespread disruption of daily life. Public health reforms and emergency measures were rapidly implemented, significantly influencing future healthcare policy and preparedness.
Immigration and Nativism
Post-war immigration surged, fueling economic growth but also intensifying social tensions. Increasing nativist sentiment led to restrictive immigration policies, notably the Immigration Act of 1921, reflecting fears of cultural dilution and job competition. Ethnic communities continued to flourish, contributing significantly to urban cultural diversity.
Cultural Renaissance
The era saw vibrant cultural expressions, including the emergence of the Harlem Renaissance, which brought profound contributions from African American artists, writers, and musicians. Figures such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston gained prominence, shaping American cultural identity profoundly.
Political Dynamics and Prohibition
Politically, the era witnessed significant shifts. Woodrow Wilson's presidency (1913–1921) was marked by progressive reforms, war leadership, and international diplomacy through the League of Nations proposal. The ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919 introduced Prohibition, profoundly altering social behaviors and fueling illegal activities such as bootlegging and speakeasies.
In Canada, the immediate post-war period brought significant social and political changes. Increased labor activism culminated in the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, highlighting tensions between labor movements and governmental authority, and influencing future labor policies nationwide.
Legacy of the Era (1912–1923 CE)
The period from 1912 to 1923 profoundly reshaped Northeastern North America. The immense sacrifices and transformations of World War I, the sweeping social movements advocating greater rights and equality, and the rapid cultural and economic changes fundamentally influenced the region, laying the groundwork for future developments throughout the twentieth century.
In addition to their other reasons, the Egyptians are influenced by American president Woodrow Wilson, who is preaching self-determination for all nations.
In September 1918, Egypt makes the first moves toward the formation of a wafd, or delegation, to voice its demands for independence at the Paris Peace Conference.
The idea for a wafd had originated among prominent members of the Umma Party, including Lutfi as Sayyid, Saad Zaghlul, Muhammad Mahmud, Ali Sharawi, and Abd al Aziz Fahmi.
President Woodrow Wilson appoints an American panel, the King-Crane Commission, to investigate the disposition of Ottoman territories and the assigning of mandates.
After extensive surveys in Palestine and Syria, the commission reports intense opposition to the Balfour Declaration among the Arab majority in Palestine and advises against permitting unlimited Jewish immigration or the creation of a separate Jewish state.
The commission's report in August 1919 will not be officially considered by the conference, however, and will not be made public until 1922.
...free of any French mandate, and that ...
...seventy-two percent of about eighteen hundred and seventy-five petitions received are hostile to the Zionist plan for a Jewish national home in Palestine.
Oberlin College president Henry C. King and Chicago executive Charles R. Crane head an International Commission of Inquiry, formed after attempts at creating an Anglo-French group fail.
The commission tours Syria and Palestine between June 10 and July 21, 1919, and, in soliciting petitions from local inhabitants, finds that a vast majority of Arabs favor an independent Syria, ...
Members of the General Syrian Congress present to the King-Crane Commission a memorandum opposing Jewish migration to Palestine, one of the first such Arab statements recorded, on July 2, 1919.