Wilson, Thomas Woodrow born 1856 died 1924. US politician and statesman. President in 1913 - 1921, Democrat. Professor of jurisprudence. From 1902 he was rector of Princeton University. In 1910 he was elected governor of New Jersey. After becoming president, Wilson put forward a program of social and economic reforms. After the outbreak of the First World War, he proclaimed the neutrality of the United States, at the same time he maintained close ties with the Entente. In April 1917, he announced the US entry into the war against Germany.
Wilson 28th President of the United States from 1913-1921 from the Democratic Party. Initiator of the US entry into the First World War.
On January 18, 1918, Wilson put forward his peace program, formulated in the famous 14 points, which speak of a democratic world without annexations and indemnities, and also comes up with the League of Nations project. The United States government refused to join the League of Nations.
Woodrow Wilson was born December 28, 1856 in Stanton, Virginia, the son of a Presbyterian preacher. Wilson's studies were difficult. At first, Wilson was homeschooled, then began to attend school. In 1873, the young man became a parishioner of the Presbyterian Church and went to college in North Carolina to become a priest. After the first year of study, Woodrow dropped out of school. In 1875 Wilson entered Princeton, graduating in 1879. At the university he became interested in political history and even organized a debating society. In 1882, the future US president entered the University of Virginia. After graduating as a lawyer, he practiced law in Atlanta from 1882-1883. In 1883, he entered graduate school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, studying the history and systems of government. For the book "The Board of Congress" (1885), Wilson received a Ph.D. Thus began his path to power. A young scholar in 1886 teaches history at the University and Women's College of Connecticut. In 1890 he was invited to Princeton. Wilson published another work, A History of the American People.
In the summer of 1885, there were changes in Wilson's personal life. Nature endowed his wife Ellen Exxon with beauty and intelligence. She was fond of literature and art, drew well, was familiar with the works of philosophers. Wilson once said that without her support, he would hardly have been able to take the presidency in the White House. In 1902, Wilson took over as chancellor of Princeton University. Wilson's extraordinary personality attracted the attention of the leaders of the Democratic Party. In 1903, he was mentioned among possible presidential candidates. But before that, he became governor of New Jersey. Wilson won the 1912 presidential election. His domestic policy went down in history as the "new democracy" or "new freedom"; it came down to three points: individualism, freedom of the individual, freedom of competition. Wilson is considered to have accomplished more in the legislative field in three years than anyone since President Lincoln. Wilson was convinced that "if the world really wants peace, it must follow America's moral precepts."
Wilson made great efforts to unite the countries of the Western Hemisphere into a kind of Pan-American league, under the auspices of which all disputes would be resolved peacefully, with mutual guarantees of territorial integrity and political independence under republican forms of government. By the summer of 1915, Wilson had matured a decision on the need to create an organization that would regulate international development and control the main forces of the world. It was envisaged that Washington in this organization would play the role of a kind of arbitrator, on which the solution of controversial issues depended. Wilson first announced the new role of the United States in world politics, speaking to 2,000 members of an organization called the Peace Enforcement League (PLM), who gathered in New York on May 27, 1916. "The United States," the president said, "is not an outside observer, it is concerned about the end of the war and the prospects for a post-war world. The interests of all nations are our own." Wilson called on all the nations of the world to cooperate and proclaimed a set of principles that America believes in: the right of the people to choose their government; small states have the same rights as large ones; respect for the rights of peoples and nations. The United States, the President promised, would become a partner in any association for the defense of peace and the principles outlined above. Thus, Wilson proclaimed the readiness of the United States to bear responsibility for world affairs with the countries of the Old World. The election campaign of Woodrow Wilson in 1916 was held under the slogan: "He kept us out of the war." Arguing that "the goals pursued by the statesmen of both belligerents in the war are essentially the same", Wilson claimed the role of an impartial arbiter. The president hesitated for a long time before going to war. The Entente countries, reproaching the United States for failing to fulfill allied obligations, stepped up the pressure. In the United States itself, anti-war sentiment was strong. The decisive factor was the military orders of the Entente countries. Finally, the White House decided that neutrality had exhausted itself, and on December 12, 1916, Germany published a note in which, in a victorious tone, it offered the allies to start peace negotiations.
A week later, Wilson issued his note, urging the belligerents to make public their aims in the war. The Germans responded by refusing to acknowledge America's role in any peace negotiations at all, which the US press described as "a humiliating disdain and humiliation." On January 22, 1917, Wilson, speaking in the Senate, called for a "peace without victory" and proposed the adoption of the Monroe Doctrine as a world document. The American conditions for peace were also outlined: the equality of nations, freedom of the seas and trade, a democratic peace without annexations and indemnities. Wilson's authority as a peacemaker and humanist grew. On the evening of April 2, 1917, Wilson appeared in Congress and announced to a crowded hall, to loud applause, that the United States was at war with Germany. True to his tactics, he chose the formula "state of war" rather than declaration, which made it possible to place the burden of responsibility on Germany. Entering the war, the United States declared itself an "associate", that is, a joined ally, emphasizing its claims to an independent course. The United States intended to take first a special, and then a leading place in the anti-German coalition, which would allow them to dominate in establishing a post-war peace. Wilson dreamed of creating a World Association of States in which the United States would play a leading role. As early as December 18, 1917, Wilson expressed the idea that it was necessary to prepare an appeal designed to become "the moral turning point of the war." The main one of his speeches was delivered on January 8, 1918 and contained the American program for the end of the war and the post-war organization of the world - the famous "Fourteen Points" of Wilson. This speech was at odds with the "Monroe Doctrine" and Theodore Roosevelt's "big stick" policy. Wilson's rival Roosevelt called them "fourteen pieces of paper" and argued that they heralded "not the unconditional surrender of Germany, but the conditional surrender of the United States." The "Fourteen Points" demanded different relations between states, and as a result, an armistice agreement was built on their basis, and Wilson was declared the forerunner of a new political order, the defender of small nations, the leader of liberal and peace-loving forces, the founder of the world community of the League of Nations.
The "Fourteen Points" proclaimed public diplomacy, open treaties, freedom of navigation, freedom of trade, reduction of armaments and other important points. In the 6th paragraph - it was said about the settlement of all issues related to Russia, to ensure its cooperation with other nations, so that it independently decides its fate and chooses a form of government. The last, 14th paragraph proclaimed the creation of "a general association of nations for the purpose of providing mutual and equal guarantees of the independence and integrity of both large and small states." The publication of the Fourteen Points was a major diplomatic act by the US government. It showed Wilson's desire to seize future peace negotiations and hinted to Germany that she should turn to the United States with a request for peace. The Americans launched a massive Fourteen Point propaganda campaign, creating the image of a great democratic nation around the world. In the spirit of the Fourteen Points, Wilson also spoke at the Paris Peace Conference in early 1919. Wilson's policy seemed idealistic to the leaders of the allied states. At the same time, it follows from the minutes of the conference that Wilson did not change his position and more than once triumphed over the Allies. The US President, confident that he was right and that he was acting "according to the will of God," fought alone, clearly overestimated his capabilities, and in Paris more than once found himself on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
On February 14, 1919, he declared: "... By means of this instrument (the Charter of the League of Nations), we make ourselves dependent first and foremost on one great power, namely, on the moral power of world public opinion - on the cleansing and clarifying , and the coercive influence of publicity. The forces of darkness must perish under the all-penetrating light of their unanimous condemnation on a world scale. As a result, a peace treaty was signed, the charter of the League of Nations - Wilson's favorite brainchild - was adopted. The functions of the president in Paris were exhausted. The purpose of the US President was obvious - at minimal cost to bring the largest economic power to the first roles in world politics. And he succeeded. Having entered the war a year and a half before its end, with a relatively small number of dead, the United States derived maximum economic and political benefits, turning from a debtor of Europe, which it was in 1914, into its creditor, becoming at the same time a truly great world power in all respects. The position of the American president on many issues was diametrically opposed to the position of the US ruling circles. That is why Wilson became a triumph in Europe, but did not receive recognition at home. By the time Wilson returned, a campaign was already underway in the country against him. Two powerful opposition groups appeared in the Senate, headed by G. Lodge and R. La Follette. The Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and insisted on a number of amendments to the charter of the League of Nations. However, the president was not going to give up. He went on a campaign tour in support of the League of Nations. But health could not stand it in September 1919 in Pueblo (Colorado) Wilson was paralyzed. Nevertheless, the president continued to fight. He spoke on the radio trying to convince the Americans that the creation of the League of Nations was necessary in order to prevent another world war. Woodrow Wilson remained confident that he was right until the very last day of his life, on February 3, 1924, Wilson died.
