Woodrow Wilson Biography
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856 in Staunton, Virginia. His father was a Presbyterian minister, while his mother was a daughter of a Presbyterian minister. The family was pious and gave a lot of importance to education and academics. |
Wilson studied for one year at Davidson College in North Carolina, and three years at Princeton University. He then studied law at the University of Virginia after which he practiced law in Atlanta, Georgia. However, his practice did not fare too well. In 1883, Wilson enrolled at the John Hopkins University for graduate studies, and received a doctorate in 1886.
Thereafter, Wilson taught for three years at Bryn Mawr College and two years at Wesleyan College. Finally, he became a professor of jurisprudence and political economy at Princeton University. He was a very successful professor. He went on to become the president of Princeton University, a position he held from 1902 to 1910. Then he entered politics with the view of making the student life better in terms of admission system, the pedagogical system and the social system. He then became the governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913.
In 1912, Woodrow Wilson won the presidential election as the Democrat candidate. When he took over office, he started changing the tariff system, banking system, keeping a check on monopolies and false advertising claims, and banning unfair practices in business.
However, World War I was looming on the horizon. At the start of the war, Wilson wanted to stay neutral. He criticized acts committed by the British as well as the Germans. He even offered to mediate between the two countries but his offer was not accepted. In 1916, Wilson got reelected as the president because people were very grateful that he kept America out of the war. However, in 1917, when Germany decided that it would attack any ship at sea, and four American ships were sunk, Wilson decided to declare war on Germany. The Congress approved his decision on April 6, 1917.
The war was won but Wilson could not get the Congress to approve the League of Nations. This is mainly attributed to a Republican majority in the Congress, not having a Republic representative in the American peace delegation and his failing health.
On September 15, 1919, Wilson collapsed while giving a speech to get support from the public for the Covenant of the League. He never recovered and spent the last 17 months of his term in office bound to a wheelchair. On leaving office, he retired from politics and lived only for another 3 years.
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