For those who aren't familiar with Woodrow Wilson, he was a politician and academic who served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 until 1921. A Democrat, Wilson had served as the President of Princeton University and as the Governor of New Jersey prior to winning the Presidential election in 1912. He was President during World War I, aka "The War to End All Wars".
After the war when Wilson returned from France after negotiating the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, this then brand new Pierce-Arrow limousine was waiting for him at the dock in New York City to take him back to Washington. He liked this auto so much that when he left office, his friends purchased it for him to use. This was the Buffalo New York based Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company's Series 51 Model.
This automobile was distinguished by 2 special emblems. The Presidential Seal was displayed on each of its arched rear passenger doors. On the front of the radiator panel was the AAA (American Automobile Club) symbol. Wilson was the first President to join that association. This auto was donated to the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation by his widow, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson.
We did like this striking American Flag-Wilson display setting off a number of personal artifacts. Of note is the woman featured in the photo as the right of the display. She is Ellen Bolling Galt Wilson, Woodrow Wilson's second wife.
Unlike more recent Presidential libraries and museums, the collections here at Wilson's birthplace are not as extensive one might expect. The complex includes the President's birthplace, (aka the Manse), a museum that basically covers the President's life and times, a research library and a gift shop as well as several other buildings that aren't open to the public.
Note: All United States Presidential Libraries for administrations prior to that of Herbert Hoover, including Wilson's, are not part of the Federal National Archives' Presidential Library System.
While attending graduate school at Johns Hopkins University in 1883, Wilson met and fell in love with Ellen Louise Axson. Like Wilson, she was from the southern United States. She had graduated from the Art Students League of New York and worked in portraiture...but she sacrificed her artistic pursuits in order to marry Wilson in 1885.
The photo above shows Ellen and Woodrow with their daughters in 1912. From the left...Margaret, Ellen, Eleanor, Jessie and Woodrow. Sadly, in August of 1914 Ellen died from Bright's Disease" a kidney disorder.
President Wilson reportedly fell into depression following Ellen's passing. However, in March of 1915, he met Edith Bolling Galt at a White House tea. She was also from the south and she was a widow, her husband having been a wealthy jeweler in Washington D.C. After several meetings, Wilson proposed to Edith in May of 1915. He was initially rebuffed but she warmed to the relationship and they were married in December of 1915. Wilson is one of the three Presidents that got married while in office, the other two being John Tyler and Grover Cleveland.
These photos show part of a re-creation of the study that was in the house that he and Ellen had built at Princeton in 1895. His focus was on his career and politics. The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library houses materials from during and immediately after his lifetime, memoirs of those who worked with him and governmental volumes concerning World War I. Other larger collections of Wilson's official papers and documents are maintained at The Library of Congress and Princeton University.
This display is related to Woodrow Wilson's family after they'd settled in Staunton Virginia. Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton in December 1856. His parents were Scotch-Irish and Scottish. Woodrow's father Joseph met Jesse, his mother, in Ohio. Soon after the couple married, Joseph was ordained as a Presbyterian pastor and he was assigned to serve in Staunton. When Woodrow was quite young, the family moved to another parish in Augusta Georgia.
Woodrow Wilson's earliest memory was when he was in the family's front yard in Augusta. He recalled a passerby announcing in disgust that Abraham Lincoln had been elected and that a war was coming. Woodrow's father identified with the Southern USA and he was a staunch supporter of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Joseph Wilson owned slaves himself...
The items displayed above are related to President Woodrow Wilson and actions surrounding World War I. From 1914 until early 1917, Wilson's primary foreign policy objectives were to keep the US out of the war in Europe. Ideally, he wanted to broker a peace agreement. He insisted that all American government actions must be neutral so as to avoid the perception that the USA had a preference of one side of the conflict over the other. The sinking of the Lusitania and similar actions by Germany finally forced American involvement.
This is our tour group at the entrance to Woodrow Wilson's birthplace. It is called the Manse, which is the name of a Presbyterian minister's home. This home was built in 1846 by the Staunton First Presbyterian Church. The home has 12 rooms with 12 fireplaces and it originally cost about $4,000 to build. At that point the Wilson family consisted of Joseph, his wife Jessie and their 2 daughters. Another son, Joseph Jr. as well as Woodrow, were born in this home.
In general, this Wilson home in Staunton was much like any other middle to upper middle class home of its time...comfortable but not overly plush. The sitting room above proves the point.
This is one of the family bedrooms. Our photos from inside the home were cluttered with the tour group so they weren't much use for this posting. Note the chamber pot under the bed. It was use that or run outside to the outhouse in bad weather!
Perhaps because it was the home for Presbyterian ministers, the home is quite plain with minimal decor. Practical and simple are words that come to mind.
As previously mentioned, Woodrow Wilson became the President of Princeton University. In that role he strove to raise admission and educational standards...taking the school from a nice place for upper middle class men to attend to a place that actually promoted and required serious study. He aggravated and lost some support from alumni but with the help and donations of such wealthy supporters as Mose Taylor Pyne (Cuban investments, sugar and railroads) and Andrew Carnegie, Woodrow did make meaningful changes. He also promoted the first Jew and the first Catholic to the faculty. He managed to loosen the conservative control of the conservative Presbyterians on the board. However, at the same time he worked to keep African-Americans from attending Princeton...this while other Ivy League schools were beginning to do so.
We've seen a lot of toys in old homes and museums over the years but this was the first horse-tricycle we'd ever seen. Note that it is operated by moving the handles back and forth. It was located in the 'birthing room' of the home.
Woodrow Wilson made a lot of progress improving Princeton but eventually he'd made so many 'enemies' that he grew tired of the constant roadblocks to progress and he found a way out. He attracted the attention of the Democratic Party in New Jersey as they desperately sought a viable candidate for Governor of that state. He became Governor in 1910 and his clashes with state party bosses enhanced his reputation with the rising Progressive movement.
In addition to the progressives, Wilson enjoyed the support of key Princeton alumni such as Cyrus McCormick and a number of Southerners who believed that Wilson's status as a transplanted Southerner gave him broad appeal. Consequently, Wilson became a key contender for the Democratic Presidential ticket as the election year of 1912 approached. Wilson faced two major opponents in the election. They were one-term Republican President William Howard Taft and former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, the latter running as a third party candidate for the "Bull Moose" Party. The split in the Republican party between Taft and Roosevelt led to Woodrow Wilson's victory and his first term as President in 1913.
Remember...the Manse was built in 1846 and its been refurbished to fit the period. The kitchen is pretty basic as is the rest of the home. Note the sand box that the stove is sitting on.
Wilson was a 'progressive', a term that is liberally used in today's politics. He introduced a comprehensive program of domestic legislation at the beginning of his administration. No other President had ever done such a thing before. His 4 major priorities were: conservation of natural resources; banking reform, tariff reduction, and; better access to raw materials via the breaking up of Western Mining Trusts. This agenda was introduced to a joint session of Congress, making Wilson the first President since John Adams to address Congress in person.
The Revenue Act of 1913 reduced tariffs, replacing the lost revenue with a Federal Income Tax of 1% on those with incomes of more than $3,000. That impacted the richest 3% of the population. Wilson also was instrumental in the creation of the Federal Reserve System...making the banking system 'public not private' and he helped create the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate antitrust violations...
I'm ending this post with another highly decorative stove...this one which would have provided heat to one room in the Wilson family home in Staunton. Whether it was original or not is not the point as far as I'm concerned. I just love the design...it is so ornate!
So, once in office what else did Woodrow Wilson accomplish? He pushed for legislation providing for an 8 hour work day and a six day work week, various health and safety measures, the prohibition of child labor and a number of safeguards for female workers. He also favored a minimum wage for all work performed by or for the Federal government. Many credit or blame Wilson for the creation of the welfare state as we know it today.
Wilson was narrowly re-elected in 1916 and while he did all he could to keep America out of the War in Europe, he did begin building up our ability to fight if it became necessary. The Democratic Party had campaigned on the slogan "He Kept Us Out of War". Unfortunately, our late entry into the war in 1917 was not without enormous problems in staffing, training and equipment. President Wilson is considered by many to have been a segregationist or racist. He escalated the discriminatory hiring practices and segregation of government offices that had begun under Theodore Roosevelt and continued under Taft. Under his Administration, many departments were segregated and some adopted whites only employment policies. Many black office holders were simply fired.
Following the Allied victory in late 1918, President Wilson attended the Paris Peace Conference. He successfully pushed for the establishment of a multinational organization, the League of Nations, which was incorporated into the Treaty of Versailles, which Wilson signed. However, when he returned home, the Senate wouldn't approve the treaty unless they were given the power to declare war...taking that ability away from the President or any treaty agreement. The Treaty was never signed and America never joined the League of Nations. Wilson suffered a stroke in late 1919 that left him incapacitated. Some historians debate the impact, but his second wife Edith and his physician controlled Wilson and despite pressure for the Vice President to take over the reins, it never happened. Allegedly no important decisions were made on the President's 'behalf' for the remainder of his second term.
All in all, our visit to the Woodrow Wilson Library and Museum was very interesting and we both learned a lot. To learn more about this Presidential attraction located in Staunton Virginia, go to https://www.woodrowwilson.org/.
Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...
Thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
