Saturday
Woodrow Wilson
Did you know that we used to have a $100,000 bill? I don't even HAVE that much money let alone the need to have a bill! The president who was on the $100,000 bill was Woodrow Wilson, our twenty-eighth president.
Woodrow Wilson, nicknamed the Professor or Schoolmaster, (I think I like Professor better, it seems more modern,) was president during World War I. He also helped to form the League of Nations after the war. (Fun Fact: Even though we helped form it, America was never a part of the League! I know! I don't get it either!)
Wilson grew up as a preacher's son in the southern states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. As a child, he struggled in school because of dyslexia. (When the letters and words move around on the page making it hard to read.) he got through it however and eventually became an exceptional academic. He went to the College of New Jersey, (now Princeton University) and got a degree in history.
The Professor moved around, attending graduate school at various universities including studying law at the University of Virginia. He passed the bar exam in 1882 (a VERY long time ago) and was a lawyer for a bit. However, he didn't like it and ended up going back to Princeton to work as a professor of political science. (SO THAT'S where he got the nickname!) A large chunk of the Professor's career was spent working at the university. He taught for more than fifteen years and then was the president (wink wink) of Princeton University for 8 more.
Wilson was very interested in government. He wrote many papers and essays about his views on how the government should work. His career eventually introduced him to government service and politics, and in 1911 he was voted governor of New Jersey. He was a popular, well-liked governor eventually he was asked to run for president.
The Schoolmaster, (I'll try it,) became President of the United States n 1913 after beating both the former president Theodore Roosevelt and the current president at the time, William Howard in the election. He immediately put some of his ideas that he had studied for years as a professor to work in the U.S. government.
A year after The Schoolmaster became president, World War I started in Europe. After living in the southern states during the Civil War as a kid, Woodrow, (Which is actually his middle name, his first name is Thomas,) hated war and wanted to keep the U.S. out of it. He managed this for the rest of his first term as president and won a second term with the campaign "He kept us out of war."
However, soon after the election, Germany began to sink U.S. ships traveling to Britain! The U.S. had no choice but to join the war. The Professor called World War I the "war to end all wars." (Unfortunately, we know that it didn't.) He said the U.S. must fight because "The world must be made safe for democracy."
On January 8th, 1918, The Professor gave a speech about the war. In this speech, he described fourteen points or goals that the U.S. had in World War I. These included items such as freedoms of the seas, reduction in arms, and the re-establishment of Belgium.
On November 11th,1918 World War I came to an end. President Wilson took a major role in influencing the treaty. He also had the idea for the League of Nations. (Which once again, the U.S. was not a part of.) It would be a group of countries that helps to negotiate arguments and to keep the peace throughout the world. In 1919, The Professor actually won the Nobel Peace Prize for his idea. The second out of the four presidents who have received one!
The Schoolmaster had struggled with his health for years, and in 1919 it caught up with him. A few months after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Woodrow Wilson suffered a major stroke. He was extremely sick for the rest of his life and died in 1924. Wilson is the only president buried in Washington D.C.
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