Thomas Woodrow Wilson won the 1912 election (beating out Teddy Roosevelt and William Taft for President) and served between 1913 and 1921. The former President of Princeton University and Governor of New Jersey, Wilson is often referred to as our most academic or collegial president (he’s the only President to hold a PhD). Not exactly warm and fuzzy, Woodrow Wilson was disciplined, methodical, principled and religious. One of the first things he did when coming into office was to found the Federal Reserve (probably his most lasting legacy). Even more memorable, Wilson was also a “war president” whose 2nd term in office covered the period during World War I, often referred to as “The Great War”. At first, Wilson pledged neutrality. But then came the sinking of the American passenger ship Lusitania by the Germans in 1915. Wilson’s presidency became consumed by foreign affairs and he finally asked Congress for a Declaration of War in 1917. Nineteen months later, the Germans surrendered (thanks to General Pershing to whom Wilson delegated almost complete control). After the war, Wilson was the first President to travel to Europe during office and he was well-received in England, France and Italy as the “savior from the West.” His great obsession was the formation of the League of Nations, but Congress (mainly the Republican opposition) defeated it much to Wilson’s chagrin (he still won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, though). Wilson’s first wife Ellen died of Bright’s Disease shortly into his first term. He remarried Edith whom he met while still profoundly grieving his first wife. She is often called “the first woman to run the government” or the “Secret President” after her husband suffered a stroke in the last years of his second term. Apparently, he was little effective at this point and Edith covered up the severity of the situation.
