Great person

Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was an American statesman and academic who served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and as Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913, before winning the 1912 presidential election. As president, he oversaw the passage of progressive legislative policies unparalleled until the New Deal in 1933.[1] He also led the United States during World War I, establishing an activist foreign policy known as "Wilsonianism." He was one of the three key leaders at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, where he championed a new League of Nations, but he was unable to win Senate approval for U.S. participation in the League.

Woodrow Wilson
President Wilson 1919-bw.tif
Woodrow Wilson in 1919
28th President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921
Vice President
Thomas R. Marshall
Preceded by
William Howard Taft
Succeeded by
Warren G. Harding
34th Governor of New Jersey
In office
January 17, 1911 – March 1, 1913
Preceded by
John Franklin Fort
Succeeded by
James Fielder (Acting)
13th President of Princeton University
In office
1902–1910
Preceded by
Francis Patton
Succeeded by
John Aikman Stewart (Acting)
Personal details
Born
Thomas Woodrow Wilson
December 28, 1856
Staunton, Virginia, U.S.
Died
February 3, 1924 (aged 67)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Cause of death
Stroke
Resting place
Washington National Cathedral
Political party
Democratic
Spouse(s)
Ellen Axson
(m. 1885; d. 1914)
Edith Bolling
(m. 1915)
Children
Margaret, Jessie, and Eleanor
Parents
Joseph Ruggles Wilson
Jessie Janet Woodrow
Education
Davidson College Princeton University Johns Hopkins University
Profession
Academic Historian Political scientist
Awards
Nobel Peace Prize
Signature

Born in Staunton, Virginia, to a slaveholding family, Wilson spent his early years in Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina. His father was a leading Southern Presbyterian and helped to found the Presbyterian Church in the United States. After earning a Ph.D. in political science from Johns Hopkins University, Wilson taught at various schools before taking a position at Princeton. In 1910, Democratic leaders recruited him to run for the position of Governor of New Jersey. Serving from 1911 to 1913, Wilson broke with party bosses and won the passage of several progressive reforms. Wilson's success in New Jersey gave him a national reputation as a progressive reformer, and his Southern roots helped him win favor in that region. After several ballots, the 1912 Democratic National Convention selected Wilson as the party's presidential nominee. Theodore Roosevelt's third-party candidacy split the Republican Party, which re-nominated incumbent President William Howard Taft. Wilson won the 1912 election with a plurality of the popular vote and a large majority in the Electoral College.

Upon taking office, Wilson called a special session of Congress, whose work culminated in the Revenue Act of 1913, introducing a federal income tax which provided revenue lost when tariffs were sharply lowered. He also presided over the passage of the Federal Reserve Act, which created a central banking system in the form of the Federal Reserve System. Other major elements of Wilson's New Freedom agenda included Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Adamson Act, all of which established new economic regulations enforced by the federal government. Wilson staffed his cabinet and administration with numerous Southern Democrats; they insisted on racial segregation at the Treasury Department and other federal offices. Upon the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Wilson maintained a policy of neutrality between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. In the presidential election of 1916, Wilson defeated Republican Charles Evans Hughes by a narrow margin, and Democrats retained control of Congress.