Woodrow Wilson Research Paper

Thomas Woodrow Wilson served two terms as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. Wilson was a very educated man and already had the experience of being a professor of political science as well as being the president of Princeton University. He had also been the governor of New Jersey in 1910 before he became President of the United States in 1913. As president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson would face the great challenge of keeping the peace. Wilson strongly supported the idea of keeping the United States as an isolationist society.

Although he was forced to take action and declare war on the German Empire when German U Boats continuously sunk US and British ships, which resulted in numerous US civilian casualties. After World War 1 had ended with the armistice signed between all of the nations, Woodrow Wilson traveled to Paris to help negotiate the Treaty of Versailles and offered his 14 points. The 14 Points were a guideline to what should be included in the peace agreement. Wilson even took it a step further and pushed for the League of Nations, an international organization for countries to resolve their disputes. Wilson also had to deal with domestic affairs such as social programs, child labor laws, wages, and much more.

Woodrow Wilson was a successful president because he helped to establish peace during World War 1 with his negotiation skills as well as helped the US to grow as a nation by adding on more laws that protect workers and consumers. Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia on December 28, 1856. Although he was born in Virginia, he spent most of his time growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia. Wilson also was the third of four kids in his family and his parents were extremely religious; his father was, in fact, a minister. He was prevented from attending school until he reached the age of nine because of the Civil War occurring in the United States at the time.

The atmosphere that encouraged his intellectual growth, despite this drastic span of time he went without education, was due to his father who wanted him to excel. Woodrow Wilson was forced to eventually drop out of school when he was younger due to a recurring illness. Wilson first entered Davidson College in 1873, but could not finish because he became ill. In 1875, he later joined Princeton University and graduated in 1879. Wilson was also briefly a student at the University of Virginia but was again unable to finish his schooling because his illness returned. Wilson completed the rest of his law studies at home and was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1882. He got bored rather quickly of being an attorney, causing Wilson, in 1883, to attend John Hopkins University to get his Ph.D. in political science. He then taught at Bryn Mawr College from 1885 to 1888 and he also taught at Wesleyan University from 1888 to 1890. Wilson accepted a teaching job at Princeton University and worked there as a professor for 12 years before becoming the president of Princeton University in New Jersey in 1902, and then eventually becoming the governor of New Jersey 8 years later in 1910.

While Wilson was running for president for the 1912 campaign he got both the support of the Southern Democrats, he was the first Democrat to have a chance at being in office since 1848, and the Southern intellects, editors, and lawyers. As President, Wilson believed that it was in the United State’s best interest to remain neutral and not to get involved in any war. He especially did not want the US to get involved in European conflicts. This policy of isolationism did not hold for long because German U boats were sinking British ships that had American passengers on board, as well as sinking American ships.

After a number of ships were sunk, Wilson asked for congressional approval to officially declare war on Germany. Eager to bring peace, Wilson helped draw up the peace agreements for the European countries after Germany surrendered and signed the armistice. Wilson was a Democrat and had more liberal views for the time. He believed in putting limitations on child labor, increasing certain wages, workmen’s compensation, and protecting the economically disadvantaged. He also enacted the Federal trade commission, which protects consumers and limits possible monopolies, Wilson also was in favor of laws that supported Unions. These examples are typically seen as progressive and liberal. Woodrow Wilson felt strongly about pushing for peace. His main goal for the United States was to strive for isolationism and neutrality in order to avoid becoming involved in the war because he did not want Americans lives in danger.

The main reason why Wilson got the United States involved in the war was that German submarines would not stop sinking US ships and other neutrally aligned ships that contained American passengers. He gave Germany multiple chances of stopping this behavior but they had continued relentlessly. Germany was then seen as a threat to the United States and Wilson thought that it would be best to fight back. Not only did Wilson try not to get involved in the war in the first place, but even after the war was over Wilson tried to take it a step further and establish the League of Nations. The League of Nations was an international organization that provided a forum for countries to resolve their disputes, without having to jump straight to war. In the year 1919, during his second term, Wilson even received a Nobel Prize for his efforts in establishing peace and negotiating peace terms. The purpose of the 14 points was to establish and stabilize peace within Europe.

The first point of the 14 points is having an open agreement about peace, after which diplomacy shall proceed directly and in the public view.

The second point: Freedom of being able to navigate the open seas, outside of territorial waters, except for if the seas are closed by international action for the enforcement of agreements.

The third point that Wilson lists is that the remove all economic barriers and establish equal trade conditions throughout the nations agreeing to the peace.

The fourth point included: Have adequate guarantees given and taken that national military weapons will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety.

The fifth point that he supplies discuss having a free, open-minded, and impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based on the idea that all questions of authority that interests the populations concerned must have equal weight with the impartial government whose title is to be determined.

The 6th point is to evacuate all Russian territory. This way it will secure the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world and assure her of a sincere welcome into the society of free nations. The goal was to also assist in of every kind of need and desire that the country may find itself wanting. The treatment given to Russia by her sister nations in the months to come was the test of their good will, of their knowledge of her needs as differencing from their own, and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy.

The 7th-12th points talk about adjusting the borders of Italy and France and freeing the people of Belgium, France, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro. Serbia was also given free access to the sea in his 12th point.

The 13th point allowed the Turkish portion of the Ottoman Empire to have secure authority, but the other nations under the empire’s rule have assured the security of life and opportunity of self-governing development. This also allowed the Dardanelles to be permanently opened as a free passage for ships and commerce of all nations.

The 14th and final point he wrote was made to set up the opportunity for Poland to eventually become its own country with its own trade system, economy, and government. Woodrow Wilson was a very progressive president, considering the time period he was in during his time in office. Wilson looked out for the “small guy” and backed up laws that protected the poor and unfortunate. During his first term, Wilson pushed for Congress to pass the Clayton Antitrust Act. The Clayton Antitrust Act was the first Federal law passed which protected consumers by not allowing monopolies, trusts, or cartels to form, which can often be considered harmful towards customers and the economy. Another act Wilson passed in his time in office was the Keating-Owen Act. This act, although it was only a law for 9 months, greatly decreased the legal amount of hours that children under 14 years-old, 16 if they were working in the mines, were allowed to work. The law didn’t stay around very long but Wilson still tried to make that a permanent change and opposed the idea of most children being members of the workforce. He also supported increasing wages for both men and women, giving workmen’s compensation, establishing the Federal Trade Commission, and establishing a working income tax law.

Woodrow Wilson was a great president and politician. His experience and knowledge made him the perfect candidate to push through the first World War. His love for the citizens of the United States and the little guys made him extremely compassionate and supportive of those who were below him, class and otherwise. Wilson's intense defense against the Germans in World War 1 proved useful and adequate as they quickly surrendered. His 14 point plan and his attempt at the establishment of the League of Nations proved that he truly knows what is important and what is not when you are a leader of such an important and influential nation. Woodrow Wilson not only sought peace after World War 1 in order to prevent more unfortunate deaths, he also truly wanted American lives to improve overall. On top of all of the social laws he helped to create as well as the social programs he created, Woodrow Wilson made it clear that he believed that Americans should have job security, a safe working condition, and the right for children to grow up educated and not have to work so hard at an early age. To wrap it up, Woodrow Wilson was a successful president because he helped to establish peace during World War 1 with his negotiation skills as well as helped the United States to grow as a nation by adding on more laws that protect workers and consumers.

Manners by which Woodrow Wilson built up peace post World War 1 was the means by which he proposed his 14 points, which comprised of enabling certain European nations to access ocean ports, settled outskirt debate, enabled Poland to wind up plainly its own particular nation with its own particular exchange framework, economy, and government; liberating the general population of Belgium, France, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro, Flexibility of having the capacity to explore the untamed oceans, outside of regional waters, aside from if the oceans are shut by worldwide activity for the requirement of understandings, evacuating every monetary boundary and build up square with exchange conditions all through the countries consenting to the peace, having a free, receptive, and fair-minded modification of every pilgrim assert, in view of the possibility that all inquiries of specialist that interests the populaces concerned must have broken even with weight with the unbiased government whose title is to be resolved.

Another thing Woodrow Wilson did to establish peace was travel to Europe right after World War 1 had ended with all of the countries signing the armistice and help configure the peace terms in the Treaty of Versailles. The last massively important thing that Woodrow Wilson did to display his amazing drive for world peace was integrate the League of Nations into existence, which was an international organization for countries to resolve their disputes in a forum, rather than just jump straight into conflict with one another and end up with millions of dead men and women. Some of the laws that Woodrow Wilson helped create that protected workers and consumers as well as helped the United States grow as a nation were the The Clayton Antitrust Act, which was the first Federal law passed which protected consumers by not allowing monopolies, trusts, or cartels to form, which can often be considered harmful towards customers and the economy, the Federal Trade Commission, that greatly protected consumers and shut down monopolies, a graduated income tax that worked efficiently with the sixteenth amendment, the Federal Reserve Act, which made the country’s financial system stronger and safer, the Keating-Owen Act, which greatly decreased the legal amount of hours that children under 14 years-old, 16 if they were working in the mines, were allowed to work, and finally his beliefs that unions were a positive thing for working-class Americans to be a part of.

Wilson greatly supported Americans forming unions. For the simple fact that president Woodrow Wilson really cared about the American people and tried his best to provide every American with a decent life and keep them out of the war if possible, Woodrow Wilson was a successful president.