Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was an American academic and statesman who served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921. Born in Staunton, Virginia, he earned a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and served as president of Princeton University before entering politics as Governor of New Jersey. In 1912, he won the presidency on a progressive platform dubbed the New Freedom.

From Strict Neutrality to World War

When World War I erupted in 1914, Wilson proclaimed American neutrality, winning reelection in 1916 on the pledge that he 'kept us out of war.' However, Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare against neutral shipping in early 1917, coupled with the provocative Zimmermann Telegram inciting Mexico, forced a dramatic shift. In April 1917, Wilson addressed Congress, declaring that 'the world must be made safe for democracy,' and committed American troops to the European theater.

The Fourteen Points and the League of Nations

American manpower and industrial scale broke the Western Front deadlock. In January 1918, Wilson announced his visionary Fourteen Points, calling for open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, national self-determination, and a collective security organization: the League of Nations. Leading the American delegation at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, he secured the Covenant of the League of Nations and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. However, opposition in the US Senate blocked American ratification. Debilitated by a severe stroke in October 1919, Wilson died in Washington in 1924.