Woodrow Wilson

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Woodrow Wilson
28th President of the United States
Term of office
March 4, 1913 - March 4, 1921[1]
Political party Democratic
Vice President Thomas R. Marshall
Preceded by William Howard Taft
Succeeded by Warren G. Harding
Born December 28, 1856
Staunton, Virginia
Died February 3, 1924
Washington, D.C.
Spouse Ellen Axson Wilson
Edith Galt Wilson
Religion Presbyterian

Woodrow Wilson (born Thomas Woodrow Wilson; (1856 - 1924), a Democrat, was elected as the 28th President of the United States of America, and reelected in 1916, serving from 1913 to 1921. An intellectual leader of the Progressive Movement, Wilson demonstrated his mastery over Congress by creating the Federal Reserve System, lowering the tariff, and revising the antitrust laws. Trying repeatedly and failing to broker peace during World War I, Wilson in 1917 led the United States into the war. He set up a draft and trained millions of soldiers, sending the American Expeditionary Forces to France under the command of General John J. Pershing. Wilson played a dominant role in ending the war with his Fourteen Points and played the central role at the Versailles Conference that set the peace terms in 1919. He failed to obtain Senate approval for the Versailles treaty because it required American entry into the League of Nations.

Wilson's idealistic foreign policy, called "Wilsonianism" sought to end militarism as a force in world affairs, vigorously promote national self determination, create international bodies to head off serious disputes, and use American resources to promote democracy. Wilsonianism (and "idealism" generally) is opposed to "realism" in foreign policy, which stresses a concern for American self-interest, especially in economic and military terms. Wilsonianism has been a major feature of the foreign policy of George W. Bush (2001-present).

Contents

Family

Woodrow Wilson was the son of Joseph Ruggles Wilson (1822-1903), born in Ohio, was a Presbyterian minister of Scotch Irish descent. Woodrow's mother Jesse was born in Carlisle, England, to a Scottish-born Presbyterian minister; her family moved to Canada in 1835 and Ohio in 1837. Woodrow's parents moved South in 1851, owned house slaves, and identified with the South. Joseph Wilson, a theologian, defended slavery and soon emerged as a leader of the Southern Presbyterian Church and an avid supporter of the Confederacy.[2]

Joseph Wilson's father was James Wilson, who immigrated to the United States from northern Ireland in 1807 and was first an editor of the Jeffersonian Republican newspaper the Aurora in Philadelphia, and later published Whig newspapers in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Since his father had been ostracized by the northern relatives, Woodrow had no contact with his grandfather or uncles, who were active in antislavery Republican politics in Ohio and Pennsylvania.[3]

Woodrow grew up in the South during the Civil War and Reconstruction his father was a chaplain for the Confederate army. Woodrow saw the humiliation, economic ruin and shame that the loser of a war experiences and the hatred that grows from this, as well as the rampant corruption during Reconstruction in Columbia, the capital of South Carolina.

In 1885 Wilson married Ellen Louise Axson (May 15, 1860 – August 6, 1914), the daughter of a Presbyterian minister in Savannah, Georgia. She was an accomplished painter and a successful hostess; they had three daughters.[4]

Education

Woodrow studied at Davidson College in North Carolina in 1873-1874 and at Princeton University from 1875 to 1879. he proved a exceptional student, primarily interested in debate and politics. He was an editor of the Princetonian and wrote his senior thesis on "Cabinet Government in the United States;" it was later published. The essay stressed the superior qualities of the British cabinet system and said it ought to be tried in the United States.[5] After graduation in 1879 he studied law at the University of Virginia; he was admitted to the bar and practiced in Atlanta, in 1882. Wilson's interest in scholarship led him in 1883 to enter the new Johns Hopkins University graduate school where he studied government and history, taking a PhD in 1885.[6]. In 1885 he published his influential treatise Congressional Government, based on his PhD dissertation. It set a new standard in analyzing the actual workings of the federal government with striking clarity and thoroughness. Although Wilson had never visited Congress, his emphasis on the centrality of committees in Congress was a major contribution to the study of political science.

College Professor

In 1885 Wilson was appointed instructor in in history at Bryn Mawr College, an elite Quaker school near Philadelphia, as a salary of $1500 a year (which was enough to hire a servant). In 1888 he moved to Wesleyan University in Connecticut. His reputation as an outstanding leader in political science brought him a professorship of jurisprudence and political economy at Princeton University in 1890. For the next twelve years he taught at Princeton, popular alike with students and faculty. By 1902, when he was elected president of the university, he was the author of numerous influential books and essays, including a five-volume history of the United States and a life of George Washington.

Historians and scholars, including former President Woodrow Wilson (when he was a Princeton University professor), have said that Shays Rebellion was one of the key forces behind the shaping of the U.S. Constitution as a document of protection for corporate interests. The Shays resistance alerted the Founders to the dangers of a populist democracy to their business interests. [1]

Wilson and Politics to 1916

Wilson was the first southerner elected president since Zachary Taylor in 1848, and much of his political base came from young progressives in that region, especially intellectuals, editors and lawyers.[7]

Wilson and religion

"Wilson, a liberal's liberal, was a Presbyterian elder who read the Bible daily; he felt 'sorry for the men who do not read the Bible every day.' The Bible, he argued, was 'the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life.' Wilson was prone to make explicitly Christian claims about his nation, even excluding the word Judeo from his characterization of the nation's religious heritage. 'America was born a Christian nation,' claimed the great liberal in 1913. 'America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.' "[8]

Wilson also had this to say about the Bible:
"The Bible... is the one supreme source of revelation of meaning of life, of the nature of God and the spiritual nature and need of men. It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation.[9]

Democracy

Woodrow Wilson has come under scrutiny in recent years for his position on segregation, most notably within for federal jobs.

Woodrow Wilson's most lasting political philosophy was his view that democracy should be installed around the world. As a major player in setting the terms to end World War I, he helped to break up the Austrian-Hungarian Empire to advance his goal of installing democracy for each ethnic subpopulation. Similar independence was granted with the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. Many of these new nations were receiving self determination for the first time in centuries. Wilson's view of installing democracy worldwide has since been copied by the neoconservatives. Wilson was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to start the League of Nations.

Wilson's image appeared on the now-withdrawn $100,000 bill.

References

  1. ↑ http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm
  2. ↑ In the 1880s Joseph Wilson argued at length that evolution was NOT in conflict with the Bible; he was thereupon forced out as head of the Presbyterian seminary in South Carolina. See Fred Kingsley Elder, Woodrow: Apostle of Freedom (1996) online review
  3. ↑ Francis P. Weisenburger, "The Middle Western Antecedents of Woodrow Wilson," Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Dec., 1936), pp. 375-390 Published by: Organization of American Historians in JSTOR
  4. ↑ See White House biography of Ellen Louise Axson Wilson
  5. ↑ Edward S. Corwin, "Woodrow Wilson and the Presidency," Virginia Law Review, Vol. 42, No. 6 (Oct., 1956), pp. 761-783 in JSTOR. It was published in a journal edited by Henry Cabot Lodge, who became Wilson's bitter enemy in 1919.
  6. ↑ Wilson is the only president to earn a PhD.
  7. ↑ Arthur S. Link, "Woodrow Wilson: The American as Southerner," Journal of Southern History, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Feb., 1970), pp. 3-17 in JSTOR Andrew Johnson was not elected; he moved from vice president to president after Lincoln's death in 1865.
  8. ↑ God and George W. Bush (New York: Regan Books, 2004), p. 175
  9. ↑ The Rebirth of America (1986), Arthur S. DeMoss, Pg. 37

Bibliography

Biography

  • Brands, H. W. Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921'’ (2003)
  • Hofstadter, Richard. "Woodrow Wilson: The Conservative as Liberal" in The American Political Tradition (1948), ch. 10. influential essay; at ACLS E-books
  • Link, Arthur S. "Woodrow Wilson" in Henry F. Graff ed., The Presidents: A Reference History (2002) pp 365-388
  • Link, Arthur Stanley. Wilson: The Road to the White House (1947), first volume of standard biography (to 1917); Wilson: The New Freedom (1956); Wilson: The Struggle for Neutrality: 1914-1915 (1960); Wilson: Confusions and Crises: 1915-1916 (1964); Wilson: Campaigns for Progressivism and Peace: 1916-1917 (1965), the last volume of standard biography
  • Walworth, Arthur. Woodrow Wilson 2 Vol. (1958); Pulitzer prize winning biography vol 1 online

Domestic affairs and ideas

  • Abrams, Richard M. "Woodrow Wilson and the Southern Congressmen, 1913-1916," Journal of Southern History, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Nov., 1956), pp. 417-437 in JSTOR
  • Clements, Kendrick A. The Presidency of Woodrow Wilson (1992), covers domestic and foreign policies
  • Corwin, Edward S. "Woodrow Wilson and the Presidency," Virginia Law Review, Vol. 42, No. 6 (Oct., 1956), pp. 761-783 in JSTOR
  • Cuff, Robert D. "Woodrow Wilson and Business-Government Relations during World War I," Review of Politics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Jul., 1969), pp. 385-407 [ttp://www.jstor.org/stable/1406552 in JSTOR]
  • Curti, Merle. "Woodrow Wilson's Concept of Human Nature," Midwest Journal of Political Science, Vol. 1, No. 1 (May, 1957), pp. 1-19 in JSTOR
  • Daniel, Marjorie L. "Woodrow Wilson--Historian," The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Dec., 1934), pp. 361-374 in JSTOR
  • Dimock, Marshall E. "Woodrow Wilson as Legislative Leader," The Journal of Politics, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Feb., 1957), pp. 3-19 in JSTOR
  • Link, Arthur S. Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era, 1910-1917 (1954), remains the standard history of his first term.
  • Link, Arthur S. "Woodrow Wilson: The American as Southerner," Journal of Southern History, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Feb., 1970), pp. 3-17 in JSTOR
  • Link, Arthur S. "Woodrow Wilson and the Democratic Party," Review of Politics, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Apr., 1956), pp. 146-156 in JSTOR cover 1913-14
  • Livermore, Seward W. Woodrow Wilson and the War Congress, 1916-1918 (1966)
  • Lunardini, Christine A.. and Thomas J. Knock. "Woodrow Wilson and Woman Suffrage: A New Look," Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 95, No. 4 (Winter, 1980-1981), pp. 655-671 in JSTOR
  • Macmahon, Arthur W. "Woodrow Wilson as Legislative Leader and Administrator," American Political Science Review, Vol. 50, No. 3 (Sep., 1956), pp. 641-675 in JSTOR
  • Malin, James C. The United States after the World War (1930)
  • Pestritto, Ronald J. ed. Woodrow Wilson and the roots of modern liberalism (2005) ISBN: 0742515176' argues Wilson subverted the ideas of the Founders by his progressivism
  • Saunders, Robert M. In Search of Woodrow Wilson: Beliefs and Behavior (1998)
  • Turner, Henry A. "Woodrow Wilson and Public Opinion," Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Winter, 1957-1958), pp. 505-520 in JSTOR
  • Wolgemuth, Kathleen L. "Woodrow Wilson and Federal Segregation," The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Apr., 1959), pp. 158-173 in JSTOR
  • Weinstein, Edwin A., James William Anderson and Arthur S. Link. "Woodrow Wilson's Political Personality: A Reappraisal," Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 93, No. 4 (Winter, 1978-1979), pp. 585-598 at JSTOR
  • Wolfe, Christopher. "Woodrow Wilson: Interpreting the Constitution," Review of Politics, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan., 1979), pp. 121-142 in JSTOR
  • Woodward, Carl R. "Woodrow Wilson's Agricultural Philosophy," Agricultural History, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Oct., 1940), pp. 129-142 in JSTOR

Foreign policy

  • Ambrosius, Lloyd E., “Woodrow Wilson and George W. Bush: Historical Comparisons of Ends and Means in Their Foreign Policies,” Diplomatic History, 30 (June 2006), 509–43.
  • Bailey; Thomas A. Wilson and the Peacemakers: Combining Woodrow Wilson and the Lost Peace and Woodrow Wilson and the Great Betrayal (1947)
  • Clements, Kendrick, A. Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman (1999)
  • Clements, Kendrick A. The Presidency of Woodrow Wilson (1992), covers foreign policy
  • Clements, Kendrick A. "Woodrow Wilson and World War I," Presidential Studies Quarterly 34:1 (2004). pp 62+.
  • Davis, Donald E. and Eugene P. Trani; The First Cold War: The Legacy of Woodrow Wilson in U.S.-Soviet Relations (2002)
  • Gaughan, Anthony. "Woodrow Wilson and the Rise of Militant Interventionism in the South ," Journal of Southern History, Vol. 65, No. 4 (Nov., 1999), pp. 771-808 in JSTOR
  • Greene, Theodore P. ed. Wilson at Versailles (1957)
  • Henderson, Peter V. N. "Woodrow Wilson, Victoriano Huerta, and the Recognition Issue in Mexico," The Americas, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Oct., 1984), pp. 151-176 in JSTOR
  • Knock, Thomas J. To End All Wars: Woodrow Wilson and the Quest for a New World Order (1995)
  • Kimitada, Miwa. "Japanese Opinions on Woodrow Wilson in War and Peace," Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 22, No. 3/4 (1967), pp. 368-389 in JSTOR
  • Levin, Jr., N. Gordon Woodrow Wilson and World Politics: America's Response to War and Revolution (1968)
  • Link, Arthur Stanley. Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era, 1910-1917 (1972) sumarizes diplomatic history
  • Link, Arthur S.; Wilson the Diplomatist: A Look at His Major Foreign Policies (1957)
  • Link, Arthur S.; Woodrow Wilson and a Revolutionary World, 1913-1921 (1982)
  • May, Ernest R. The World War and American Isolation, 1914-1917 (1959)
  • Sandos, James A. "Pancho Villa and American Security: Woodrow Wilson's Mexican Diplomacy Reconsidered," Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Nov., 1981), pp. 293-311 in JSTOR
  • Trani, Eugene P. “Woodrow Wilson and the Decision to Intervene in Russia: A Reconsideration.” Journal of Modern History (1976). 48:440—61. in JSTOR
  • Walworth, Arthur. Wilson and His Peacemakers: American Diplomacy at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 online edition

Historiography

Primary sources

External links


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