Katie DiRocco
Mr. Dodds
United States History; period 9
February 27, 2015
A.M.D.G. 50.
Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson is one of the most significant figures in American history. He was born in Staunton, Virginia and grew up in Georgia and South Carolina. Growing up, Wilson had a harder time in school compared to others because he had a form of dyslexia. His father, who was a reverend, trained him in oratory, a place of prayer, and debate, which Wilson grew a passion for as a boy. He went on to Davidson College but transferred to Princeton in 1875. Next, he studied law at the University of Virginia and earned a Ph. D. in political science and history at John Hopkins University. Wilson wanted to be a professor at Princeton after graduating and ended up becoming the university’s 13th president (Funk and Wagnalls). After this, Wilson moved on to bigger things that changed the world. Woodrow Wilson accomplished many things in his lifetime like crafting the Versailles Treaty’s Fourteen Points in World War I, creating the Federal Reserve System, and supporting women in their right to vote. Woodrow Wilson was elected in 1912 after running against Taft and Roosevelt. The only problem with him becoming president is that he was no too popular with the public because of his poor people skills. He was very stubborn and had a sense of moral righteoness and idealism. His first plan was the attack the triple wall of privilege; tariff, banks, and trusts. He soon convinces congress to pass the Underwood Tariff Bills, which helped reduce the tariff. Soon after this the 16th amendment was ratified which let congress collect a graduated income tax. These are smaller things he did in his first term as president. One of Wilson’s bigger accomplishments was creating a banking system while benefited the United States majorly. The Federal Reserve System, founded by Woodrow Wilson, is a central banking system in the United States. By December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law, it stood as a classic example of compromise. It was a decentralized central bank that balanced the competing interests of private banks and populist sentiment (Federal Reserve Education). Under his leadership, Congress enacted the most cohesive, complete, and elaborate program of federal oversight of the nation's economy up to that time: banking reform under the auspices of the Federal Reserve System, tariff reduction, federal regulation of business, support for labor and collective bargaining, and federal aid to education and agriculture. Together, these programs helped the United States begin to catch up with what was happening in other industrial states around the world. They reflected a deep commitment to humanization of the industrial system and laid the basis for the modern welfare state (Miller Center). Wilson also signed other acts like the Federal Farm Loan Act, Warehouse Act, Workingmen’s Compensation Act, Adamson Act, and La Follette Seamen’s Act. This helps farmers take out loans and made them at low interest rate, benefited sailors by improving how they are treated and more money to live on the ships, and established an 8-hour workday for employees on trains. There were more positives to these Acts but Wilson also tried to repeal previous acts that he thought hurt the county like exempting American coastal shipping from tolls (APNotes). Following World War I, Woodrow Wilson wanted to establish a basis for a lasting peace following the allies’ victory. He created a proposal called the Fourteen Points which declared that World War I was being fought for a moral cause and calling for peace in Europe. Wilson was the first national leader to address the world through radio transmission. He hoped to persuade the governments and people of America and their new allies to support his vision, particularly a league of nations. Wilson's Fourteen Points address was also broadcasted into the enemy nations, where he hoped he