Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson used the presidency from 1913 to 1921 to advance Progressive reform, lead the nation through World War I, and propose a new international order.
Born December 28, 1856 / Died February 3, 1924
On December 28, 1856, in Staunton, Virginia, Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born into a Presbyterian minister's family shaped by the Civil War South. He studied at Davidson College, Princeton, the University of Virginia, and Johns Hopkins, then became a political scientist and president of Princeton University. Scholarship, higher education leadership, and New Jersey reform politics carried him into national prominence.
Wilson became president in 1913 and oversaw major Progressive legislation, including the Federal Reserve Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and tariff reform. He later led the United States into World War I in 1917 and articulated the Fourteen Points as a blueprint for postwar peace. His advocacy for the League of Nations gave American internationalism a new institutional ambition even as the Senate rejected membership.
Wilson's administration shaped modern financial governance, antitrust policy, and the language of liberal internationalism. The Federal Reserve, later world-order debates, and the long argument over presidential war leadership all remained deeply marked by his tenure.
Key Contributions
- Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921.
- Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act and led the United States into the First World War.
- Woodrow Wilson died on February 3, 1924.
Related Events
Federal Reserve Act signed
On December 23, 1913, Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act, creating a national reserve system designed to stabilize American banking after the Panic of 1907.
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