Woodrow Wilson was a leader. 

Woodrow Wilson was a leader. 

Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States. 
Before he was president, Wilson was a teacher. He earned a Ph.D. in history. This is the highest degree a student can get. He taught at several colleges. Later, he became the president of Princeton University. 
Wilson also served as the governor of New Jersey. In 1912, he won the election for president. He made many new laws. These laws changed how the government handles money.
When World War I began, Wilson tried to keep peace. Later, the U.S. joined the war. Wilson wrote a plan called the Fourteen Points. He wanted this plan to help bring peace. He also helped start the League of Nations. 
In 1919, Wilson had a stroke. This made it very hard for him to work. He died in 1924. 
Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States. 

Before leading the country, Wilson spent many years in school. He studied at the College of New Jersey, which is now Princeton University. He later went to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. There, he earned a Ph.D. in history and government. 

Wilson entered politics after working in education. He served as the governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913. In the 1912 election, he won against William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt.
World War I changed much of Wilson's presidency. In 1914, the war began in Europe. At first, the U.S. stayed neutral to try to keep peace. 
Life became very hard for Wilson after the war. In October 1919, he had a stroke. 
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States. 

Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia, in 1856. His family had roots in Ireland and Scotland. His father, Joseph Ruggles Wilson, was a Presbyterian pastor. The family moved to Augusta, Georgia, before Woodrow was two years old. During the American Civil War, his father supported the Confederacy. This made Wilson one of only two U.S. presidents to be a citizen of the Confederate States of America. He later studied at the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton University. He also attended the University of Virginia School of Law. 
After law school, Wilson focused on history and political science. He earned a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1886. This makes him the only U.S. president to hold a doctorate. He taught at Bryn Mawr College and Wesleyan University. In 1887, he wrote a famous article called "The Study of Administration." This paper argued that managing government should be its own professional field. Because of this work, he is considered a founding father of public administration. He later became the president of Princeton University. 
Wilson entered politics as the governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913. In the 1912 election, he won the presidency. He defeated the incumbent Republican, William Howard Taft. He also defeated the third-party candidate, Theodore Roosevelt.
World War I changed the focus of his presidency. When the war began in Europe in 1914, Wilson declared that the U.S. would remain neutral. He tried to negotiate peace between the Allied and Central Powers. In April 1917, he asked Congress to declare war on Germany. This was a response to unrestricted submarine warfare. German submarines had been sinking American merchant ships. Wilson used diplomacy to guide the war effort. He issued the Fourteen Points as a plan for lasting peace.
After the war ended in 1918, Wilson attended the Paris Peace Conference. 
Wilson's health declined rapidly after the war. In October 1919, he suffered a stroke. This left him incapacitated and unable to make major decisions. His wife and his doctor controlled his affairs during this time. He died in February 1924 at the age of 67. 

🖼️ Images & Media (33)
+ 21 more
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.