Wilson, Thomas Woodrow

Wilson, Thomas Woodrow (b. 28 Dec. 1856, d. 3 Feb. 1924). 28th US President 1913–21 Born at Staunton, Virginia, the son of a stern Presbyterian minister, he enrolled at Princeton University in 1875, received a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, and returned to Princeton in 1890 as Professor of Jurisprudence. In 1902 he was appointed president of the university, where he was responsible for a number of major changes in its educational and social organization. In 1910 he resigned to run as a reform-minded Governor of New Jersey, and was elected. In his short tenure in this position he instituted a number of important reforms, and in 1912 he benefited from the divisions within the Republican Party to be elected President.

Once in office, Wilson determined to effect a programme known as the New Freedom, designed to stimulate competition by reducing the power of corporate trusts, to promote equal opportunity, and to check corruption. He encouraged trade through a reduction in tariffs, making up for the lost revenue through the introduction of a low income tax. He also reformed the banking system, which led to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. A compromise between demands for greater regulation and Democrat fears at the power of Wall Street, it established twelve Federal Reserve Banks in different parts of the country, which were owned by their member banks and linked by a Federal Reserve Board. In foreign policy, he was soon faced with the outbreak of World War I. At first, he concentrated on conserving US neutrality. Gradually, however, he came to the view that the USA should support Britain and France against Germany, which he considered a threat to democracy and humanity. The German policy of unrestricted submarine warfare from February 1917 led to the declaration of war in April (Lusitania; Zimmermann Note).

From then on he worked to realize his vision, proposed in the Fourteen Points, of a peaceful and democratic postwar world. However, he failed to take fully into account the persistence of European nationalism and the strength of a feeling of retribution after World War I. As a result, the ensuing Versailles Treaty fell far short of his ambitions. Wilson's Presbyterian background and respect for legal traditions made him favour an international peacekeeping forum. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for the creation of the League of Nations. However, he faced a tough and ultimately unsuccessful battle to have US membership in the League ratified, as Congress feared a permanent US involvement overseas. Wilson suffered a severe stroke during his campaign for ratification in September 1919. He never fully recovered, and for the last year of his presidency the second Mrs Wilson, a lady of powerful personality, largely directed such business as could not be avoided or postponed. 

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