The Second Term Curse: Woodrow Wilson's Second Term
Woodrow Wilson took office as the 28th U.S. President after winning the 1912 presidential election. He took advantage of a split in the Republican Party between William Howard Taft's conservative wing and Theodore Roosevelt's progressives. Roosevelt left the party when he failed to win the party's nomination for president and ran as a third party candidate for the Progressive (or "Bull Moose") Party. Wilson was also a progressive, and in first term, he oversaw the passage of unprecedented progressive legislation up to that time. He took office one month after the ratification of the 16th Amendment of the Constitution permitted a federal income tax. Wilson helped pass the Revenue Act of 1913, which reintroduced a federal income tax to lower tariff rates. Other major progressive legislation passed during Wilson's first term include the Federal Reserve Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Federal Farm Loan Act. Passage of the Adamson Act imposed an 8-hour workday for railroads, preventing a railroad strike. But Wilson's administration also allowed segregationist policies in government agencies.
When World War I began in 1914, at first Wilson maintained a policy of neutrality, despite pressures from supporters of both sides. At the end of his first term, Wilson was renominated as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, without opposition. He campaigned on the slogan "He kept us out of war". But despite American neutrality, German submarines were sinking ships believed to be supplying goods to their enemies, including American ships. In his acceptance speech on September 2, 1916, Wilson warned Germany that submarine warfare resulting in American deaths would not be tolerated. He said, "The nation that violates these essential rights must expect to be checked and called to account by direct challenge and resistance."
Wilson drafted a platform that called for all work performed by and for the federal government to provide a minimum wage, an eight-hour day and six-day workweek, health and safety measures, the prohibition of child labour, and a retirement program. The 1916 Republican National Convention nominated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes for president. A former governor of New York, Hughes tried to reunify the progressive and conservative wings of the party. The election outcome was in doubt for several days. It was ultimately decided when Wilson won California by 3,773 of almost a million votes cast, and New Hampshire by 54 votes. In the final count, Wilson had 277 electoral votes vs. Hughes's 254. By the time Hughes' concession telegram arrived, Wilson commented "it was a little moth-eaten when it got here". Wilson became the first Democrat since Andrew Jackson to win two consecutive terms.
The central issue in Wilson's second term was America's entry into World War I and that war's aftermath. Early in 1917, German ambassador Johann von Bernstorf informed the U.S. that Germany intended to continue its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.The US became aware of the "Zimmermann Telegram" in which Germany attempted to enlist Mexico as a fighting ally against the US, in order to keep America occupied and unable to enter the war on the side of the allies. Wilson's initial reaction was simply to end diplomatic relations with the Germans. He said, "We are the sincere friends of the German people and earnestly desire to remain at peace with them. We shall not believe they are hostile to us unless or until we are obliged to believe it". In March 1917, after several American ships were sunk by Germany, the cabinet was unanimously in favor of war.
Wilson addressed a special session of Congress on April 2, 1917, declaring that Germany's latest actions now made his "armed neutrality" policy untenable. He asked Congress to declare war, and proposed that the United States enter the war to "vindicate principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power". He concluded his speech by saying:
"Our object is to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power. We are glad to fight for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included: for the right of nations great and small and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make."
The declaration of war against Germany passed Congress by strong bipartisan majorities on April 4, 1917. The U.S. raised a large army through conscription. The 1917 revolution in Russia relieved the Germans of a major threat on their eastern front, and allowed them to place more troops on the Western front. U.S. forces became more important to Allied success. The German offensive led to an accelerated deployment of troops by Wilson to the Western front. By August 1918 a million American troops had reached France. The Allies initiated a counter offensive at Somme and by August the Germans had lost the military initiative. In October the new German Chancellor Prince Max of Baden requested a general armistice.
Meanwhile at home, anarchists, communists, Industrial Workers of the World members, and other antiwar groups were targeted by the Department of Justice. Wilson also established the United States Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel, known as the "Creel Commission", which conducted censorship of materials considered seditious. Wilson also lobbied Congress to pass the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. This was legislation that suppressed anti-British, pro-German, or anti-war statements. He pressed for the arrest and deport foreign-born enemies who opposed America's participation in the war. Many of these people were deported under the powers granted in the Immigration Act of 1918.
With congressional elections approaching, in 1918 Wilson made an appeal to the public for the retention of a Democratic majority. His appeal backfired due to its self-serving tone. Republicans picked up majorities in both houses of Congress.
Earlier that year, in a speech by Wilson to Congress on January 8, 1918, Wilson articulated America's long term war objectives. The speech was known as the Fourteen Points. The first six points dealt with diplomacy, freedom of the seas and settlement of colonial claims. Then territorial issues were addressed in other points, and the final point called for the establishment of an association of nations to guarantee the independence and territorial integrity of all nations—a League of Nations.
After Germany surrendered and an Armistice was signed, Wilson decided that he would spend six months in Paris for the post-war Peace Conference. He became the first U.S. president to travel to Europe while in office. He arrived in Brest on December 13. While in Italy (January 1–6, 1919) for meetings with King Victor Emmanuel III and Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando, he became the first incumbent U.S. president to have an audience with a reigning pope, when he met with Pope Benedict XV. Wilson took a break from the negotiations and departed February 14, 1919 for home, then returned to Paris three weeks later and remained until the conclusion of a treaty in June. During the first four weeks of the Conference, Wilson played a commanding role. He promoted his plan for the League of Nations. But while many editorial writers, churches and peace groups generally favored the League, Republicans vowed to defeat the League. Wilson likely made a political mistake by failing to address Congress about the ongoing deliberations at the peace conference, or by failing to include Republicans in the peace delegation.
After his visit home, and while en route back to France, Wilson suffered an illness. His health declined at a time when his strong presence was sorely needed. When he arrived back in Paris, it was clear the conference had struggled in his absence. His surrogate, Colonel Edward House, had compromised Wilson's prior gains, and Wilson tried to regain the lost ground. On April 3 Wilson once again fell ill during a conference meeting. Though his symptoms receded within a couple of days, those close to him noticed a lasting deterioration of his health.
The charter of the proposed League of Nations was incorporated into the conference's Treaty of Versailles. After the conference, Wilson said "at last the world knows America as the savior of the world!" For his peace-making efforts, Wilson was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize. But Wilson would encounter problems in his efforts to gain ratification of the treaty at home. Ratification of the treaty required a two-thirds majority in the Republican-controlled Senate. Public opinion was mixed, with intense opposition coming from Republicans, Germans, and Irish Catholic Democrats. In meetings with Senators, Wilson discovered that the opposition had strong. Despite his poor health, Wilson decided to take his case to the people. He embarked on a speaking tour of the Western states, scheduling 29 major speeches and many short ones in order to rally support.
The tour did not go well. Wilson had a series of debilitating strokes and had to cut his trip short. In Pueblo, Colorado, on September 25, 1919, he collapsed as he was about to deliver a speech and his health never fully recovered. He returned home to Washington in poor health. On October 2, 1919, Wilson suffered a serious stroke, leaving him paralyzed on his left side, along with blindness in his left eye and partial vision in his right eye. He was confined to bed for several weeks and sequestered from everyone except his wife Edith and his physician, Dr. Cary Grayson. For some months, Wilson used a wheelchair and later he required use of a cane. His wife Edith and his aide Joe Tumulty were said to have helped a journalist, Louis Seibold, present a false account of an interview with the President, which hit the seriousness of his condition. Wilson was insulated by his wife, who selected matters for his attention and delegated others to his cabinet. Even his Vice-President, Thomas Marshall, was unable to meet with the President. Wilson temporarily resumed a perfunctory attendance at cabinet meetings. But by By February 1920, the President's true condition was publicly known.
Wilson's fitness for the presidency was a serious impediment at a time when the League fight was reaching a climax, and domestic issues such as strikes, unemployment, inflation and the threat of Communism required his attention. No one close to him, including his wife, his physician, or personal assistant, was willing to admit he was unable to perform the duties of the presidency. His condition also prevented him from negotiating a compromise that might yet save the treaty. Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge led the opposition to the treaty in the Republican controlled Senate. The key point of disagreement was whether the League would diminish the power of Congress to declare war. It was possible to build a majority for the treaty in the Senate, but the two-thirds coalition needed to ratify was insurmountable. One block of Democrats strongly supported the Versailles Treaty. The largest bloc—Lodge and the Republicans—wanted a treaty with reservations, especially on Article X, which empowered the League of Nations to make war without a vote by the United States Congress. Finally, a bipartisan group of 13 "irreconcilables" opposed a treaty in any form.
In mid-November 1919 Lodge and his Republicans formed a coalition with the pro-Treaty Democrats, and were close to a two-thirds majority for a Treaty with reservations. Wilson rejected this compromise. Wilson's stroke likely added to his unwillingness to negotiating effectively with Lodge.As a result, the treaty was defeated.
As the election of 1920 approached, Wilson imagined that a deadlocked Democratic convention might nominate him for a third term with a campaign focused on the League of Nations. But this was not a realistic assessment. Democrats realized that Wilson was too incapacitated and had insufficient support. Wilson asked Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby to nominate him for president at the 1920 Democratic National Convention. Democratic leaders were unwilling to support the ailing Wilson for a third term. The convention held several ballots over multiple days, with Governor James Cox of Ohio winning the nomination after dozens of ballots.
Many expected Theodore Roosevelt to be the 1920 Republican nominee, but his death in January 1919 left the race for the Republican nomination wide open. The three major contenders for the Republican nomination were General Leonard Wood, who had been a close friend of Roosevelt, Senator Hiram Johnson, who was Roosevelt's running mate on the 1912 Progressive ticket, and Governor Frank Lowden of Illinois. When the 1920 Republican National Convention met in June 1920, none of the three major contenders were able to accrue enough support to win the nomination. The party ultimately nominated a dark horse candidate, Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio. Wilson largely stayed out of the campaign, although he endorsed Cox and continued to advocate for U.S. membership in the League of Nations. Harding won a landslide victory, taking 60.3% of the popular vote and winning every state outside of the South. Democrats also suffered huge losses in the Congressional and gubernatorial elections of 1920, and the Republicans increased their majorities in both houses of Congress.
A 2006 poll of historians ranked Wilson's unwillingness to compromise on the Treaty of Versailles as the fourth-worst mistake made by a sitting president. Many of Wilson's accomplishments, including the Federal Reserve, the Federal Trade Commission, the graduated income tax, and labor laws, had lasting effects. Wilson's League of Nations influenced the development of the United Nations. However, Wilson's record on civil rights was deplorable, even by the standards of his day.
When World War I began in 1914, at first Wilson maintained a policy of neutrality, despite pressures from supporters of both sides. At the end of his first term, Wilson was renominated as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, without opposition. He campaigned on the slogan "He kept us out of war". But despite American neutrality, German submarines were sinking ships believed to be supplying goods to their enemies, including American ships. In his acceptance speech on September 2, 1916, Wilson warned Germany that submarine warfare resulting in American deaths would not be tolerated. He said, "The nation that violates these essential rights must expect to be checked and called to account by direct challenge and resistance."
Wilson drafted a platform that called for all work performed by and for the federal government to provide a minimum wage, an eight-hour day and six-day workweek, health and safety measures, the prohibition of child labour, and a retirement program. The 1916 Republican National Convention nominated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes for president. A former governor of New York, Hughes tried to reunify the progressive and conservative wings of the party. The election outcome was in doubt for several days. It was ultimately decided when Wilson won California by 3,773 of almost a million votes cast, and New Hampshire by 54 votes. In the final count, Wilson had 277 electoral votes vs. Hughes's 254. By the time Hughes' concession telegram arrived, Wilson commented "it was a little moth-eaten when it got here". Wilson became the first Democrat since Andrew Jackson to win two consecutive terms.
The central issue in Wilson's second term was America's entry into World War I and that war's aftermath. Early in 1917, German ambassador Johann von Bernstorf informed the U.S. that Germany intended to continue its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.The US became aware of the "Zimmermann Telegram" in which Germany attempted to enlist Mexico as a fighting ally against the US, in order to keep America occupied and unable to enter the war on the side of the allies. Wilson's initial reaction was simply to end diplomatic relations with the Germans. He said, "We are the sincere friends of the German people and earnestly desire to remain at peace with them. We shall not believe they are hostile to us unless or until we are obliged to believe it". In March 1917, after several American ships were sunk by Germany, the cabinet was unanimously in favor of war.
Wilson addressed a special session of Congress on April 2, 1917, declaring that Germany's latest actions now made his "armed neutrality" policy untenable. He asked Congress to declare war, and proposed that the United States enter the war to "vindicate principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power". He concluded his speech by saying:
"Our object is to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power. We are glad to fight for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included: for the right of nations great and small and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make."
The declaration of war against Germany passed Congress by strong bipartisan majorities on April 4, 1917. The U.S. raised a large army through conscription. The 1917 revolution in Russia relieved the Germans of a major threat on their eastern front, and allowed them to place more troops on the Western front. U.S. forces became more important to Allied success. The German offensive led to an accelerated deployment of troops by Wilson to the Western front. By August 1918 a million American troops had reached France. The Allies initiated a counter offensive at Somme and by August the Germans had lost the military initiative. In October the new German Chancellor Prince Max of Baden requested a general armistice.
Meanwhile at home, anarchists, communists, Industrial Workers of the World members, and other antiwar groups were targeted by the Department of Justice. Wilson also established the United States Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel, known as the "Creel Commission", which conducted censorship of materials considered seditious. Wilson also lobbied Congress to pass the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. This was legislation that suppressed anti-British, pro-German, or anti-war statements. He pressed for the arrest and deport foreign-born enemies who opposed America's participation in the war. Many of these people were deported under the powers granted in the Immigration Act of 1918.
With congressional elections approaching, in 1918 Wilson made an appeal to the public for the retention of a Democratic majority. His appeal backfired due to its self-serving tone. Republicans picked up majorities in both houses of Congress.
Earlier that year, in a speech by Wilson to Congress on January 8, 1918, Wilson articulated America's long term war objectives. The speech was known as the Fourteen Points. The first six points dealt with diplomacy, freedom of the seas and settlement of colonial claims. Then territorial issues were addressed in other points, and the final point called for the establishment of an association of nations to guarantee the independence and territorial integrity of all nations—a League of Nations.
After Germany surrendered and an Armistice was signed, Wilson decided that he would spend six months in Paris for the post-war Peace Conference. He became the first U.S. president to travel to Europe while in office. He arrived in Brest on December 13. While in Italy (January 1–6, 1919) for meetings with King Victor Emmanuel III and Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando, he became the first incumbent U.S. president to have an audience with a reigning pope, when he met with Pope Benedict XV. Wilson took a break from the negotiations and departed February 14, 1919 for home, then returned to Paris three weeks later and remained until the conclusion of a treaty in June. During the first four weeks of the Conference, Wilson played a commanding role. He promoted his plan for the League of Nations. But while many editorial writers, churches and peace groups generally favored the League, Republicans vowed to defeat the League. Wilson likely made a political mistake by failing to address Congress about the ongoing deliberations at the peace conference, or by failing to include Republicans in the peace delegation.
After his visit home, and while en route back to France, Wilson suffered an illness. His health declined at a time when his strong presence was sorely needed. When he arrived back in Paris, it was clear the conference had struggled in his absence. His surrogate, Colonel Edward House, had compromised Wilson's prior gains, and Wilson tried to regain the lost ground. On April 3 Wilson once again fell ill during a conference meeting. Though his symptoms receded within a couple of days, those close to him noticed a lasting deterioration of his health.
The charter of the proposed League of Nations was incorporated into the conference's Treaty of Versailles. After the conference, Wilson said "at last the world knows America as the savior of the world!" For his peace-making efforts, Wilson was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize. But Wilson would encounter problems in his efforts to gain ratification of the treaty at home. Ratification of the treaty required a two-thirds majority in the Republican-controlled Senate. Public opinion was mixed, with intense opposition coming from Republicans, Germans, and Irish Catholic Democrats. In meetings with Senators, Wilson discovered that the opposition had strong. Despite his poor health, Wilson decided to take his case to the people. He embarked on a speaking tour of the Western states, scheduling 29 major speeches and many short ones in order to rally support.
The tour did not go well. Wilson had a series of debilitating strokes and had to cut his trip short. In Pueblo, Colorado, on September 25, 1919, he collapsed as he was about to deliver a speech and his health never fully recovered. He returned home to Washington in poor health. On October 2, 1919, Wilson suffered a serious stroke, leaving him paralyzed on his left side, along with blindness in his left eye and partial vision in his right eye. He was confined to bed for several weeks and sequestered from everyone except his wife Edith and his physician, Dr. Cary Grayson. For some months, Wilson used a wheelchair and later he required use of a cane. His wife Edith and his aide Joe Tumulty were said to have helped a journalist, Louis Seibold, present a false account of an interview with the President, which hit the seriousness of his condition. Wilson was insulated by his wife, who selected matters for his attention and delegated others to his cabinet. Even his Vice-President, Thomas Marshall, was unable to meet with the President. Wilson temporarily resumed a perfunctory attendance at cabinet meetings. But by By February 1920, the President's true condition was publicly known.
Wilson's fitness for the presidency was a serious impediment at a time when the League fight was reaching a climax, and domestic issues such as strikes, unemployment, inflation and the threat of Communism required his attention. No one close to him, including his wife, his physician, or personal assistant, was willing to admit he was unable to perform the duties of the presidency. His condition also prevented him from negotiating a compromise that might yet save the treaty. Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge led the opposition to the treaty in the Republican controlled Senate. The key point of disagreement was whether the League would diminish the power of Congress to declare war. It was possible to build a majority for the treaty in the Senate, but the two-thirds coalition needed to ratify was insurmountable. One block of Democrats strongly supported the Versailles Treaty. The largest bloc—Lodge and the Republicans—wanted a treaty with reservations, especially on Article X, which empowered the League of Nations to make war without a vote by the United States Congress. Finally, a bipartisan group of 13 "irreconcilables" opposed a treaty in any form.
In mid-November 1919 Lodge and his Republicans formed a coalition with the pro-Treaty Democrats, and were close to a two-thirds majority for a Treaty with reservations. Wilson rejected this compromise. Wilson's stroke likely added to his unwillingness to negotiating effectively with Lodge.As a result, the treaty was defeated.
As the election of 1920 approached, Wilson imagined that a deadlocked Democratic convention might nominate him for a third term with a campaign focused on the League of Nations. But this was not a realistic assessment. Democrats realized that Wilson was too incapacitated and had insufficient support. Wilson asked Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby to nominate him for president at the 1920 Democratic National Convention. Democratic leaders were unwilling to support the ailing Wilson for a third term. The convention held several ballots over multiple days, with Governor James Cox of Ohio winning the nomination after dozens of ballots.
Many expected Theodore Roosevelt to be the 1920 Republican nominee, but his death in January 1919 left the race for the Republican nomination wide open. The three major contenders for the Republican nomination were General Leonard Wood, who had been a close friend of Roosevelt, Senator Hiram Johnson, who was Roosevelt's running mate on the 1912 Progressive ticket, and Governor Frank Lowden of Illinois. When the 1920 Republican National Convention met in June 1920, none of the three major contenders were able to accrue enough support to win the nomination. The party ultimately nominated a dark horse candidate, Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio. Wilson largely stayed out of the campaign, although he endorsed Cox and continued to advocate for U.S. membership in the League of Nations. Harding won a landslide victory, taking 60.3% of the popular vote and winning every state outside of the South. Democrats also suffered huge losses in the Congressional and gubernatorial elections of 1920, and the Republicans increased their majorities in both houses of Congress.
A 2006 poll of historians ranked Wilson's unwillingness to compromise on the Treaty of Versailles as the fourth-worst mistake made by a sitting president. Many of Wilson's accomplishments, including the Federal Reserve, the Federal Trade Commission, the graduated income tax, and labor laws, had lasting effects. Wilson's League of Nations influenced the development of the United Nations. However, Wilson's record on civil rights was deplorable, even by the standards of his day.