Woodrow Wilson Essays - Presidency Of Woodrow Wilson, Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson In 1856, Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born to Joseph Wilson and Janet Woodrow. Because he was the son of a Presbyterian minister, the moral ideology of Woodrow Wilson had its foundation early in his life. It is this moral approach to politics that shaped American foreign policy for a great part of the twentieth century. Wilson was elected president in 1910, as a result of Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose split from the Republican Party. The idealistic governor from New Jersey believed that the time had come for him to instate moral politics on the American people. Wilson had little experience in the arena of international politics, this is quite ironic of Wilson's presidency because, Wilson himself would be chiefly remembered as a world diplomat, and, his domestic policy would not be long cherished. To understand Woodrow Wilson's take on politics, one must first review his childhood and background. Born in the age of slavery, Wilson grew up as a racist. His parents both came from families of strong Presbyterian influence. Growing up his father would quiz him on the Bible as well as the orations of men such as Daniel Webster and Charles Lamb. It was also a result of his Scottish-Irish ancestry that Wilson began to inspect the British form of government, a government from which he would later try to incorporate ideas into American democracy. It was here, in his childhood, which the brickwork was laid for America's leader in World War I. (Walworth 14) After attending Princeton University, Wilson became the president of the University. He instituted many reforms including the defeat of the quadrangle system and a development of a graduate school. His belief was that Princeton was to transform boys performing meaningless tasks into thinking men. This goal was to be achieved by using the British model of the preceptorial program . After hearing about this new method of instruction, many vigorous young teachers flocked to Wilson praising his method. Wilson had now become the university's Pastor. (Walworth 89) When a new contract concerning the new graduate school was adopted, the pastor was asked to leave the university life, he was now ready to enter the political arena. Many politicians in the state of New Jersey were eager to have Wilson, a democrat, become involved in politics. Muckrakers had introduced New Jersey as a state conducive to corporations and the political machines they controlled, and the need for an honest politician was greater than ever. At the time when Wilson began his political career, the New Jersey machine was lacking a democratic candidate that could take the place of strong progressive reformers. In the 1906 election for New Jersey's senator, Wilson had all but conceded defeat, since the democrats had no viable chance of winning the election, or so he thought. After conversing with a Princeton classmate, Edwin Stevens, he realized that the bosses were trying to place Wilson as a candidate to cover up the real problems of the machines. (Walworth 145) George Brinton McClellan Harvey was the editor of Harper's Weekly Magazine during the latter part of Wilson's tenure at Princeton. Harvey is largely responsible for the governorship of New Jersey. It was Harvey that made a deal with James Smith Jr. Harvey guaranteed that Wilson would accept the nomination if Smith used his pull in the Democratic Party to make Wilson the president of the United States (Walworth 151). Wilson reluctantly accepted the proposal from Harvey and Smith and began the march toward the presidency. As soon as Wilson was elected governor of New Jersey, he was seen as the man who would lead the Democratic Party towards a more righteous end. As governor, Wilson turned and fought the machines that had, unbeknownst to Wilson, in effect put him in office. When Smith learned of Wilson's alleged betrayal, he announced his candidacy for re-election to the United States Senate, Wilson publicly denounced this campaign and had once and for all, ended the reign of the New Jersey Machine. The time for the 1912 election was near and a reluctant Woodrow Wilson accepted the challenge and the Democratic nomination. This was largely due to the crises that were blooming in the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, Wilson campaigned and toured the country giving the speeches, which he had become famous for. Wilson then secured the democratic nomination when he earned the support of the influential William Jennings Bryan . Bryan had respected Wilson and had followed him since the time of his presidential reforms at Princeton, admired and congratulated him on his quest for governor and