Born on December 28, 1856, Woodrow Wilson from a young age experienced a Southern perspective of the Civil War and saw how the aftermath played out. He was very enthusiastic about learning and earned multiple degrees before even going to college. His political career grew very fast as he only spent two years as governor of New Jersey before his presidential election in 1912. In that election, he was nominated the Democratic candidate and ran against the Republican William Howard Taft. Because Roosevelt was upset with Taft's previous showing as president, Roosevelt ran as the Populist candidate. This split the Republicans in half, helping Woodrow Wilson become President.Wilson made many reforms during his presidency. He favored small businesses and farmers so he passed laws banning child-labor and that established an 8-hour workday. He made very tough antitrust laws to break big businesses up into smaller units, won new protection to labor systems, and created the first lasting federal reserve loan system. He also became a supporter of the women's suffrage movements and in 1920 the 19th Amendment was passed which granted women the right to vote. Even though he made labor and women's rights reforms, he did not treat African-Americans well. He cut back some of the advancements made by African-Americans during the civil war by encouraging segregation.
During Wilson's presidency, World War I was also going on. He declared America a neutral country so that it could mainly be kept out of the war. However, America eventually joined the war after Germany ignored US neutrality by sinking their ships. After the war, Wilson proposed the Fourteen Points which was a statement with peace negotiations to try to end the war and prevent another future war.
Woodrow Wilson eventually died from a stroke on February 3, 1924, at the age of 67.
Source:
https://www.biography.com/us-president/woodrow-wilson
I really like how your blog post goes over President Wilson's life in a chronological order, and highlights both his accomplishments and poor decisions, like advocating for segregation. Upon doing some more research on the Fourteen Points, I found that it was a statement he read to Congress, where he called for reforms like the freedom of the seas and the restoration of territories that were conquered in the war. When he met with allied leaders during the Paris Peace Conference, many disagreed with his points and instead wrote the Treaty of Versailles to demand penalties on Germany. His idea did, however, lead to the creation of the League of Nations, which aimed to settle disputes between countries before it became a war.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/league-of-nations
I found your post really interesting! I decided to do some more research on why the U.S. decided to enter World War I. When Germany announced unrestricted warfare against any ships that entered the war zone in 1915, a private American vessel was sunk. The U.S. demanded reparations for this and other unarmed ships with American passengers aboard. Unrestricted warfare resumed in 1917, and Germany sunk an American liner and four merchant ships. The British also intercepted the Zimmermann Telegraph, in which Germany proposed an alliance with Mexico. It suggested that Mexico attack the U.S. and recover Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. Shortly after, Wilson went to Congress who was ready for the U.S. to join the war.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/america-enters-world-war-i
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram