#28: Wilson, Woodrow

Woodrow Wilson
December 29, 1856 (Staunton, Virginia) - February 3, 1924 (Washington, D.C.)

Woodrow "Smudgey face" Wilson

World Book hearts Woodrow Wilson in a big way: "Before reaching the height of popularity as a world statesman, he had achieved success in two other careers. First, as a scholar, teacher, and university president, he greatly influenced the course of education. Then, as a political leader, he brought successful legislative reforms to state and national government. Wilson would have won a place in history even if he had been active in only one of his three careers. . . . Historians consider Wilson one of the three or four most successful Presidents."

Wilson had three daughters with his first wife. Wilson's first wife died while he was serving his first term as President. He was heartbroken. A year later he met his second wife, a widow of a Washington jeweler, and remarried.

We can thank Wilson for:

• The residential college system at Yale (what what!)--he tried to put a "preceptorial system" in place at Princeton, but those snobs were too attached to their eating club system to accept it. Yale and Harvard adopted his vision of the "quad plan" with separate colleges, each arranged in a quadrangle around a central court, with its own dorms, eating hall, master and tutors;
• Keeping us out of World War I for almost three years, for what that's worth (he was wedded to peace until the Germans started attacking American ships without warning in March 1917)--his adamant stance on neutrality earned him the nickname, the "human icicle";
• Creating an independent Department of Labor and ushering in new labor laws like the Adamson Act (establishing the eight-hour work day) and the Child Labor Act (limiting the number of hours children can work);
• The League of Nations (for what that's worth).

President Wilson was the first American president to cross the Atlantic Ocean while in office. He spent months abroad in 1918-19, enjoying a enthusiastic reception after WWI from European people who considered him a great statesman for helping negotiate the Treaty of Versailles. He had a hard time winning support for the peace agreement at home and an even harder time winning support for the League of Nations. In September 1919, Wilson began a speaking tour of the US to drum up support for the League among the American people (Wilson was an awesome orator). He suffered a paralytic stroke while traveling from Pueblo, Colorado to Wichita, Kansas, on October 2, 1919, and ultimately served the rest of his term as an invalid. He did not call a cabinet meeting until April 13, 1920. In the intervening months, the cabinet met "unofficially and carried on much of the routine work of government during Wilson's long illness."

Wilson's work in advocating for the League of Nations was quickly dismantled by his Republican successor: Warren G. Harding.

Wilson died in his sleep on February 3, 1924. He was buried in the Washington Cathedral. He is the only President interred in Washington, D.C.