woodrow wilson definition us history

woodrow wilson definition us history

Woodrow Wilson’s Impact on U.S. History: A Comprehensive Analysis

1. Introduction to Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson served two separate terms as the President of the United States of America. The first term was from 1913 to 1917, and his second term was from 1917 to 1921. He was widely praised for bringing progressive reform to the U.S. presidential office as well as to the country. Among the key reform measures that he helped earn approval for was the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Today, this act has been revised and renamed as the Banking Act of 1933, and it is still the underlying banking act governing our country’s financial institutions. It established the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, which lend the United States their reserves just as the United States lends its gold stock to the Federal Reserve. When conservative-minded people think of Woodrow Wilson, they shudder. Wilson was a utopian visionary who believed the common man could be trusted to develop better social conditions for himself. Consequently, Wilson ridiculed the conservative approach that relied on people to help themselves, and he continually proposed alternative courses of action that were designed for the government to assist the development of the beneficial social conditions he expected to see become a reality.

2. Woodrow Wilson’s Early Life and Education

In 1885, Wilson married Ellen Louise Axson, a preacher’s daughter, and they were the parents of three daughters, Margaret, Jessie, and Eleanor. Mrs. Wilson died in 1914, during her husband’s term in office, and became the first Presidential wife to pass away in the White House. Two years later, Wilson married Mrs. Edith Galt. From his early career, Wilson was an educator, then became involved in politics and became President of the United States. In fact, President Wilson’s love of education never ceased. As President, he greatly increased Federal funds for universities and liberalized the loan system. He broke new ground by being the first President to appear in person before Congress to get financial support for universities. Technology and education have also gained increased attention from President Wilson in that he brought together such men as Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison to discuss the means of increasing the government’s gratitude to scientists and inventors. President Wilson was the main force behind the establishment of the Smithsonian Institute and also the National Science Foundation. He firmly believed that the Federal funds for education were in the spirit of the Constitution, although personally, he preferred to leave educational control to the states.

Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia on December 28, 1856. He was the offspring of a religious southern family. His education was steeped in religion and ethics, his father being a Presbyterian minister who had studied at Princeton College. This combination of the highest moral ideals of both North and South became the foundation for his life’s work. He received his early education from his father, studied at a private school called Mr. Williamson’s and later at a grammar school called The Academy in Bridgeville, Connecticut. When he was sixteen, Wilson went to the College of New Jersey, later renamed Princeton University, where he received A.B. and A.M. degrees. He studied law at the University of Virginia. After practicing law for a while, in 1883, he received both his Ph.D. and a degree in history and political science from Johns Hopkins University. Heavily influenced by a famous professor of history, he decided to devote his life to the study of politics and political science. He eventually earned the position of professor in that field at Bryn Mawr and later at Wesleyan University. He was also the President of Princeton University for several years.

3. Woodrow Wilson’s Political Career

After being elected as an underdog candidate for the US Senate, Wilson found a receptive audience among the northeastern liberal intellectuals. They shared what they considered to be his moderate views. After they lobbied for him with such influential western progressives as Senator La Follette, he acted as their spokesman in the 1912 presidential primaries and the national election. As he became dearer and dearer to so many people, the wily old Democratic party regulars who had tried without any great success to placate him when he was governor of New Jersey presented the US with a new leader of the Democratic party.

In 1885, Woodrow Wilson married Ellen Axson, who died in the White House in 1914. They had three daughters. In 1915, Wilson married Edith Bolling Galt, a widow, which helped him through the final years of his term. Wilson’s skills as a public speaker swept him into the governor’s chair, where he confronted New Jersey’s machine boss, Frank Hague, supporting Hague’s enemies only after that support appeared to be overwhelmingly successful. His national ties too began to grow. He attracted the attention of conservative southern Democrats who realized that a Democrat who could carry the northern states could go a long way; he also began to attract favorable attention among northeastern academics. In 1910, during his second term as governor, maverick New Jersey Republican, J. P. Morgan partner, former state senator, and potential presidential candidate John Walter Weeks decided that Wilson might not really be a dangerous radical, even though he had castigated Weeks for being “for the Aldrich Bill and the Republican platform,” and threw his support to him.

4. Woodrow Wilson’s Presidency and Domestic Policies

Today, to the extent the public remembers Wilson at all, it is mainly for his somewhat checkered role as a world statesman and peacemaker, his ultimate failure to convince his fellow citizens of the wisdom and benefits of League of Nations participation, and the irony that the prize bearing his name should continue to be awarded by a nation that twice impeached his legacy by refusing to participate in the League. However, as the president of the daily and looming crises of his second term, including the domestic chaos and moral dilemmas of World War I, the idealist from Staunton, Virginia had already made significant contributions, whether by enunciating principles (or even a statecraft) or by forging new national institutions and establishing new directions of policy that continued the recent history of the U.S. into a future that extended well beyond his own brief lifetime.

Only 16 months into his term, on March 24, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson addressed the nation in what is now referred to as his “First Inaugural Address.” In his speech, the new President offered an appealing vision for national recovery. In his plan for governmental action and reform, Wilson drew on the broad reform tradition of the Progressive era. One key to understanding Wilson’s eloquence generally is that, as a writer, lecturer, teacher, and most notably as a politician, he always had a theme, a principle, or a compelling objective in mind, and often his eloquence flowed from the intensity of his convictions.

5. Woodrow Wilson’s Presidency and Foreign Policies

Woodrow Wilson was widely known for his intention to use the United States’ influence to help secure constructive changes within the international system. In Europe and Asia, there were numerous people striving to obtain broad freedoms and a say in the self-government of their respective countries. In his many public addresses, including the speech given upon his second inaugural ceremony, Wilson laid down the working aims of America in the war. There were four essential things associated with peace: first, a transparent peace treaty; second, justice for every nation, no imperialistic elements; third, functional guarantees of political sovereignty and freedom for every nation; and fourth, a final organization of all nations to guarantee the execution of peace treaties. It was also necessary to get into the federal government of national territories as soon as possible.

The 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, was actively involved in various reforms related to the issues of the Progressive Era throughout his presidency. He championed for concentrated power, enabling him to reach reforms and programs. Foreign policy matters were at the top of Wilson’s list of priorities when it came to his presidency. In this section, there is a comprehensive analysis of how Wilson impacted U.S. history and how successful he was, particularly on the domestic and foreign policies of his presidency.