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

Born: 1858, New York, NY
Died: 1919

The son of a wealthy banker, “Teddy” Roosevelt was a sickly youth who overcame his frailty through exercise and sheer grit. After graduating from Harvard he entered politics as a Republican reformer, but when his wife and mother both died on the same day, he temporarily left public life to become a rancher in the Dakota Territory. He remarried in 1886 and went to work on the Civil Service Commission, then became New York’s Police Commissioner. Appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy by President McKinley, Teddy led the Rough Rider Regiment in Cuba during the Spanish American War. Elected New York Governor in 1898, he was McKinley’s running mate in 1900.

Upon McKinley’s assassination, the progressive new President tackled the industrial monopolies, earning the label “trust-buster.” A passionate defender of the wilderness, he expanded the National Parks. In foreign policy he said, “speak softly and carry a big stick,” and he helped create the Panama Canal. The nation liked his Square Deal and elected him in a landslide in 1904. In 1906 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War. He retired in 1908, but resurfaced in 1912 to head the Bull Moose ticket. Although he lost, Teddy showed his usual flair. Shot in the chest while campaigning, he delivered his hour-long speech before going to the hospital.

Twenty-Sixth President
Republican