Woodrow Wilson: Life and Career of the US President

All about the life of Woodrow Wilson.

• Woodrow Wilson

  was a

  doctor of history

  who won the election as

  governor of New Jersey

  as a career changer

  .

• From 1913 to 1921, the

  Democratic politician was

  the

  28th President of the United States.

• During his tenure, the

  Nobel Peace Prize laureate

  intervened

  in the

  First World War

  and played a key role in the peace agreement.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson

(12/28/1856, 1924) was an

American Democrat

who led the fortunes of the

United States of America for

two terms

.

Under his leadership, the United States entered the

First World War

.

At the same time he played an important role in the subsequent

peace conference

.

In the same year

Woodrow Wilson received

the Nobel Peace Prize.

To this day, scientists are controversial about his attitude towards Germany.

Woodrow Wilson died just three years after the end of his presidency.

His final resting place is the

National Cathedral in Washington DC

.

- The Washington National Cathedral

located at 3101 Wisconsin Avenue in Washington DC -

Woodrow Wilson's Origin, Family, and Studies

Thomas Woodrow Wilson

comes from Staunton, Virginia and grew up as one of four children.

His parents were of American and British descent.

Since 1851 the parents lived in the

southern states

.

There they were Confederate sympathizers.

Woodrow Wilson's father was a pastor of the Presbyterian Church and an

advocate of

slavery

.

He kept his own slaves himself.

Coming from a good family, he attended various

private schools

in his youth

.

At

Princeton University

he studied, then he went to the

University of Virginia

to

law

study.

During a law internship, however, he decided to become a teacher.

As a result, he moved to

Johns Hopkins University

(https://www.jhu.edu)

in 1883 to

study

history and political science

.

The

historian received

his doctorate in 1886 and taught at a secondary school for girls in the following years.

Woodrow Wilson married his

first wife Ellen Wilson

(May 15, 1860, 1914)

at this time

.

Until her death, she was at his side as First Lady in the White House in Washington for a year.

A year after her death, Woodrow Wilson married the

widow Edith White Bolling Galt Wilson

(October 15, 1872, 1961).

Political career and governor of New Jersey

Woodrow Wilson's

political interest

began during his academic career.

As university president, he advised

black Americans

not to apply for a place there.

In other books and scholarly papers, Woodrow Wilson spoke negatively about Americans of color and expressed understanding of

racial discrimination

.

As

a member of the Democratic Party

, he decided in 1910 to run for

governor

of New Jersey.

Woodrow Wilson won the election by about fifty thousand votes and was subsequently governor.

As a

political career changer

without previous political office, he was well received by voters.

During the election campaign, he promised to govern independently of party structures and power struggles.

He stuck to this during his time as governor.

For example, he promoted some

reforms in New Jersey

that were not very popular in the Democratic Party.

The Democratic party leadership saw Woodrow Wilson increasingly skeptical.

The latter did not adhere to the party-political reasoning and decided at his own discretion.

Nonetheless, Woodrow Wilson enjoyed growing popularity among American electorate.

So he got talking about an upcoming presidential candidacy.

Woodrow Wilson as US President

Before the

1912 presidential election

,

Woodrow Wilson was

a candidate for the Democratic Party.

In a duel between the

Speaker of the House of Representatives Champ Clark

(03/07/1850, 1921) Woodrow Wilson prevailed.

At first, Clark always had a clear lead, but could not achieve the required two-thirds majority.

With the support of an influential Democrat, Woodrow Wilson won the

nomination

in the 46th ballot

.

In the 1912 presidential election, he benefited from the split in the Republicans.

With a

share of the vote of 41.8%

, he clearly won the presidential election.

He received electoral votes from forty states.

The other two candidates stood no chance against the Democrat and PhD historian.

During his tenure, Woodrow Wilson suffered a

stroke in

1919

that

paralyzed him on one side

.

Nevertheless, he continued his official business.

In 1921 a republican successor took office.

Just a few years later, Woodrow Wilson died at the age of 67.

Racial Policy under Woodrow Wilson

The

historian Woodrow Wilson has

often disparaged blacks in the course of his academic career.

During his presidency, he supported the southern states of the USA in maintaining the current franchise.

This disadvantaged the black citizens in the respective state.

As US President, he preferred white politicians from the southern states for the allocation of political offices.

Wilson reintroduced

racial segregation

in the federal agencies and the military

.

He fired most of the black politicians in leading positions; there were also partition walls in the offices and separate toilets for black employees.

Known for his

racist jokes

about black people, he was a

proponent of segregation

.

In retrospect, historians refer to former President of the United States Woodrow Wilson as both a

moderate southern politician

and one of the most

racist US presidents of all time

.

Entry into the First World War and attitude to Germany

First, put

Woodrow Wilson

during World War I to a

policy of neutrality

.

With the policy of neutrality, he was able to win over large parts of the population and was

re-elected

in 1916

.

After

public opinion about the war

in Europe changed, the USA intervened

in the

First World War

in

1917

.

After an armistice was agreed, Woodrow Wilson negotiated the

Versailles Treaty

in the Council of Four

.

The center of the negotiated peace should be its

14-point program

.

This included the following points, among others:

• Public peace treaties with no secret agreements

• Freedom of navigation in international waters

• Removing economic barriers and establishing freedom of trade

• Disarmament to the lowest level

• Evacuation of Russia, Belgium and France

• Foundation of an association of nations (League of Nations)

Woodrow Wilson's stance on Germany

is still part of scientific controversy.

As an academic historian, Woodrow Wilson was rather positive about Germany.

He especially admired the

Reich President Otto von Bismarck

.

Over the years, however, his image of Germany changed, even if he rather neglected the development of European politics.

At least at the end of 1914 he pointed out that Germany was not solely to blame for the First World War.

Nevertheless, he was in favor of a fundamental change in the German government.

In the course of the war, Wilson's attitude towards Germany changed.

This now wanted to punish the German population for the First World War.

This went so far that at the Treaty of Versailles he said to the British Prime Minister that he

had always detested Germany

.

Honors for Woodrow Wilson and Nobel Peace Prize

In 1919

Woodrow Wilson received

the

Nobel Peace Prize

.

This award was dedicated to his

services

at the end of the

First World War

and the establishment of the League of Nations.

Today there are numerous buildings and squares that are named after the former US President Woodrow Wilson.

His image is also on the

US $ 100,000 banknote

.

This is an official currency in the USA, although it was never in circulation.

In Alabama there is the

Wilson Dam

, while in South Georgia there is

Cape Wilson

.

There are also countless

schools

named Woodrow Wilson

across America

.

However, there are regular

protests

against the naming, as African-American Americans in particular remind of Woodrow Wilson's racist attitude.