The Fourteen Points (1918)
His programme for peace after the First World War, including a league of nations
US Presidents · 20th century
Woodrow Wilson
1856–1924 · American
Democratic
In office: 1913–1921
Woodrow Wilson, a political scientist, president of Princeton University and governor of New Jersey, was the 28th president. His "New Freedom" programme created the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission, and after keeping the US out of the First World War until 1917, he set out the Fourteen Points and championed the League of Nations. The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles and he was incapacitated by a stroke in 1919, but he won the Nobel Peace Prize.
How to spot them
- ▸The Fourteen Points (1918) and the League of Nations
- ▸'He kept us out of war' (1916); 'The world must be made safe for democracy' (1917)
- ▸The only president with a PhD; formerly president of Princeton University
- ▸Disabled by a stroke in 1919, with his wife Edith controlling access to him
- ▸Federal Reserve Act (1913); Nobel Peace Prize for 1919
In office
The Federal Reserve Act (1913)
Created the US central banking system
'The world must be made safe for democracy' (1917)
From his speech asking Congress to declare war on Germany
Campaign slogan 'He kept us out of war' (1916)
Helped him win re-election shortly before the US entered the First World War
Senate rejection of the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations (1919–1920)
Despite a national speaking tour, the US never joined the League
The Clayton Antitrust Act and the Federal Trade Commission (1914)
Key 'New Freedom' measures against monopolies
Key ideas
- Wilsonianism: an idealistic foreign policy based on democracy, self-determination and collective security
- His record on race is widely criticised: he segregated the federal civil service
Quick-fire facts
- •The 28th President of the United States
- •Born in Staunton, Virginia; earned a PhD from Johns Hopkins University
- •Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1919
- •Married Edith Bolling Galt in 1915 while in office, after the death of his first wife Ellen
- •The 17th Amendment (direct election of senators) and 19th Amendment (women's suffrage) were ratified during his presidency
- •Congress passed the Volstead Act enforcing Prohibition over his veto
- •The only president buried in Washington, D.C., at Washington National Cathedral
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Sources
- Miller Center, University of Virginia — Woodrow Wilson
- John Milton Cooper Jr. — Woodrow Wilson