Born: 1856, Staunton, VA
Died: 1924

The son of a Presbyterian minister, Woodrow Wilson was a progressive reformer and idealist. He was also remote and rigid — righteous to a fault. After attending Princeton and practicing law briefly, he returned to his alma mater as a professor of political science, becoming president of the University in 1902. In 1910, Wilson was elected Governor of New Jersey and in 1912 he became the Democrat’s Presidential nominee on the 46th ballot.

Backed by a Democratic majority in Congress, President Wilson pushed through numerous reforms, including a graduated income tax, a lower tariff, laws restricting child labor, and the Federal Reserve Act. In 1916 the war in Europe was the major issue of the day — Wilson opposed intervention and narrowly won re-election. Soon after, Germany’s mounting aggression against the U.S. forced the President to declare war, to “make the world safe for democracy.”

In his “Fourteen Points” peace plan, Wilson called for a “League of Nations” after the Allied victory. But Congress, by then Republican and isolationist, failed to ratify the League’s Treaty (of Versailles). Wilson suffered a stroke while on a national tour promoting the League, which had become his passion. In 1920 he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Twenty-Eighth President
Democrat