Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson Was born in Virginia in 1856 and grew up in Georgia Father was a Presbyterian minister and Confederate sympathizer Brought up with a strict sense of right and wrong as well as typical southern views on race

Woodrow Wilson Graduate of Princeton, got a law degree from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D from Johns Hopkins in Politics and History Went back to Princeton to teach and later became its president Was recruited into politics and became the Governor of New Jersey in 1910

Woodrow Wilson Democratic nominee for president in 1912 Election of 1912 Wilson (D) 42% TR (P) 27% - 88 Taft (R) 23% - 8 Debs (S) 6% - 0

Woodrow Wilson Presidency ( ) Progressive reform Federal Reserve Act Clayton Anti-Trust Act Underwood Tariff Federal Trade Commission Act 16 th,17 th,18 th, and 19 th Amendments

Woodrow Wilson Presidency ( ) Racial regression Washington, D.C. made interracial marriage a felony Some executive departments became segregated with Wilson’s approval After viewing Birth of a Nation allegedly said "It's like writing history with lightning. And my only regret is that it is all terribly true." The Red Summer of 1919 – Racial rioting all across the United States

Woodrow Wilson Presidency ( ) Wilson opposed imperialism (TR) and Dollar Diplomacy but did send U.S. troops into Mexico, Nicaragua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Panama, and Russia Events in Europe (WWI) eventually consumed his presidency

The Great War ( ) European rivalries, imperialism, military build ups, and system of alliances Americans were astonished and appalled at the destructiveness of the war (10-13 million dead) U.S. sympathies tended to be with the Allies (British, French, and Russians) Closer cultural and economic ties News about the war came from England (cut transoceanic cables to European mainland)

Wilson and WWI Wilson announced U.S. neutrality “in thought as well as action” (9 million Germans, 5 million anti-British Irish in U.S.) Yet, Wilson was an anglophile and tended to make decisions in favor of the Allies

Wilson and WWI We had a huge economic interest in the war Trade with the Allies 1914 – $800 million $ 3 Billion Trade with the Central Powers $ 169 million $1 million (Impact of British blockade)

Wilson and WWI 1915 sinking of the Lusitania killed well over a thousand people including 128 Americans Lusitania was carrying munitions for the Allies

Wilson and WWI German U-boats harassed U.S. ships at sea March 1916 – German’s attack a French passenger liner, Sussex injuring some Americans Sussex Pledge – German promise not to harm passenger ships without warning

Wilson and WWI In 1916 Wilson ran for re-election on the slogan, “He kept us out of war” He won a narrow victory over Charles Evans Hughes (R) ( ) “There will be no war. This country does not intend to become involved in this war. It would be a crime against civilization for us to go in.” (Wilson – 1917)

Wilson and WWI In early 1917 Germany made the calculated decision to step up its submarine warfare against U.S. ships trading with England (Russia had collapsed on the Eastern front) British intelligence informed the U.S. of the Zimmerman Note

Wilson and WWI Wilson decided to ask Congress for a declaration of war (April 1917) Wilsonian Idealism A war to make the world safe for democracy A war to end all wars

Wilson and WWI Congressional Vote to declare war – April 6, 1917 House (373-50) Senate (82-6)

Wilson and WWI Word of U.S. entry had a tremendous impact on Allied morale U.S. navy helped to neutralize the German U-Boats U.S. entry will turn the tide of the war in favor of the Allies