Woodrow Wilson

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Learn about Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points designed to sow peace after World War I

Key events in the life of Woodrow Wilson.

President Woodrow Wilson and first lady Edith Wilson.

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Woodrow Wilson summary

Woodrow Wilson

Q: When was Woodrow Wilson president?

Woodrow Wilson, one of 13 U.S. presidents who served two full terms of office, was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. Throughout his presidency, Wilson fought for reforms with respect to labour laws, the rights of women , and international relations .

Q: What were Woodrow Wilson’s accomplishments?

Woodrow Wilson created the League of Nations after World War I (1914–18). He presided over ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment , giving women the right to vote , and laws that prohibited child labour and that mandated an eight-hour workday for railroad workers. He appointed the first Jewish justice, Louis Brandeis , to the U.S. Supreme Court .

Q: Why was Woodrow Wilson so influential?

Although his historical reputation suffered in his final years because of Republican political gains, during World War II Woodrow Wilson’s reputation soared. He was considered a wrongly unheeded prophet whose policies would have prevented world calamity. Nevertheless, the creation of the United Nations and collective security pacts are viewed as fulfillment of his internationalist vision.

president of United States

Also known as: Thomas Woodrow Wilson

Written by John Milton Cooper

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 23, 2024 • Article History

Woodrow Wilson

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Category: History & Society

In full:: Thomas Woodrow Wilson

Born:: December 28, 1856, Staunton, Virginia, U.S.

Died:: February 3, 1924, Washington, D.C. (aged 67)

Title / Office:: presidency of the United States of America (1913-1921), United States; governor (1911-1913), New Jersey

Political Affiliation:: Democratic Party

Awards And Honors:: Hall of Fame (1950); Nobel Prize (1919); Hall of Fame for Great Americans (1950); Nobel Peace Prize (1919)

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When was Woodrow Wilson president?

What were Woodrow Wilson’s accomplishments?

Why was Woodrow Wilson so influential?

Woodrow Wilson (born December 28, 1856, Staunton, Virginia, U.S.—died February 3, 1924, Washington, D.C.) 28th president of the United States (1913–21), an American scholar and statesman best remembered for his legislative accomplishments and his high-minded idealism. Wilson led his country into World War I and became the creator and leading advocate of the League of Nations, for which he was awarded the 1919 Nobel Prize for Peace. During his second term the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote, was passed and ratified. He suffered a paralytic stroke while seeking American public support for the ...(100 of 3221 words)

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