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U.S. Presidents: Woodrow Wilson

This guide will give you information about the Presidents of the United States.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson

(1856-1924)

Woodrow Wilson

Profile

Occupation

Educator

U.S. President (March 4, 1913 - March 4, 1921)
Date of Birth December 28, 1856
Date of Death February 3, 1924
Place of Birth Staunton, VA
Place of Death Washington, D.C.
Education

Wesleyan University

College of new Jersey (Princeton University)

Davidson College

Law School of the University of Virginia

Johns Hopkins University

Bryn Mawr College
Parents

Jessie Janet Woodrow

Joseph Ruggles Wilson
Spouse

Ellen Axson

Edith Bolling
Political Party

Democratic
Awards

Nobel Peace Prize (1919)
Number of Children

Ellen Axson - Three

Edith Bolling - None

Did You Know?

President Wilson...

  • ...was the first president to receive a Ph.D. in Political Science from John Hopkins University.
  • ...was president throughout World War I. He tried to keep the United States out of the war. However, after the sinking of the British liner Lusitania (159 American were on board) by German U-Boat 20, the president went to Congress to ask for a declaration of war.
  • ...took military action against Pancho Villa.

Biography

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 to February 3, 1924) was an academic and politician who served as the two-term 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. Wilson spent his youth in the South observing the Civil War and its aftermath. A dedicated scholar and enthusiastic orator, he earned multiple degrees before embarking on a university career. In a fast rise politically, he spent two years as governor of New Jersey before being elected in 1912 to the presidency of the United States. 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. His legacy includes sweeping reforms for the middle class, voting rights for women and precepts for world peace. However Wilson is also known for a dismal record on race relations. During the last year of his presidency, Wilson suffered his second stroke and died three years after leaving office.

Quotes

“The government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy.”
—Woodrow Wilson
 
“There is no cause half so sacred as the cause of a people. There is no idea so uplifting as the idea of the service of humanity.”
—Woodrow Wilson
 
“If you want to make enemies, try to change something.”
—Woodrow Wilson
 
“America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and maintain liberty among men.”
—Woodrow Wilson

Books Located in the Library