Mrs. Wilson Takes Charge
When you compare pictures of presidents at the start and at the end of their terms, it becomes apparent that the job ages a person. In some cases the job has had very adverse results on the President's health. James K. Polk died less than two months after leaving office, and while cholera is listed as the cause of death, it was apparent that he was in bad health even before leaving office.
In the case of Woodrow Wilson, the job was so hard on him that he suffered a very severe stroke towards the end of his second term. Wilson had been in Europe at the Paris Pace Conference. He made a strong case for a League of Nations (a forerunner to the United Nations) that was a hard sell for him, especically back at home. The immediate cause of Wilson's stroke was said to be the physical strain of the public speaking tour he undertook to gain support for League of Nations. He collapsed while speaking in Pueblo, Colorado, on September 25, 1919.
On October 2, 1919, he suffered a serious stroke that almost totally incapacitated him, leaving him paralyzed on his left side and blind in his left eye. He was confined to bed for weeks, sequestered from nearly everyone but his wife and his physician, Dr. Cary Grayson. For at least a few months, he used a wheelchair. Later, he could walk only with the assistance of a cane. The full extent of his disability was kept from the public until after his death on February 3, 1924.
With few exceptions, Wilson was kept out of the presence of Vice President Thomas R. Marshall, his cabinet and Congressional visitors to the White House for the remainder of his term. His wife, Edith, served as gatekeeper, selecting what issues would be brought to his attention and delegating other issues to his cabinet. Eventually, Wilson resumed his attendance at cabinet meetings, but he had little input there.
Edith Wilson carefully screened all matters of state and decided which were important enough to bring to the bedridden president. She later wrote "I studied every paper sent from the different Secretaries or Senators and tried to digest and present in tabloid form the things that, despite my vigilance, had to go to the President. I, myself, never made a single decision regarding the disposition of public affairs. The only decision that was mine was what was important and what was not, and the very important decision of when to present matters to my husband."
Edith also strongly opposed allowing Vice President Thomas Riley Marshall to assume the powers of the presidency. In her memoir (fittingly enough called "My Memoir") published in 1939, she called her role a "stewardship" and stated emphatically that her husband's doctors had urged that course upon her.
Others, however, disagreed with her version of events and called it revisionism. One historian, Phyllis Levin, a former reporter for the New York Times, wrote, Edith Wilson was "a woman of narrow views and formidable determination" and blamed her for numerous diplomatic failures that occurred during her time as unofficial acting president.
In the case of Woodrow Wilson, the job was so hard on him that he suffered a very severe stroke towards the end of his second term. Wilson had been in Europe at the Paris Pace Conference. He made a strong case for a League of Nations (a forerunner to the United Nations) that was a hard sell for him, especically back at home. The immediate cause of Wilson's stroke was said to be the physical strain of the public speaking tour he undertook to gain support for League of Nations. He collapsed while speaking in Pueblo, Colorado, on September 25, 1919.
On October 2, 1919, he suffered a serious stroke that almost totally incapacitated him, leaving him paralyzed on his left side and blind in his left eye. He was confined to bed for weeks, sequestered from nearly everyone but his wife and his physician, Dr. Cary Grayson. For at least a few months, he used a wheelchair. Later, he could walk only with the assistance of a cane. The full extent of his disability was kept from the public until after his death on February 3, 1924.
With few exceptions, Wilson was kept out of the presence of Vice President Thomas R. Marshall, his cabinet and Congressional visitors to the White House for the remainder of his term. His wife, Edith, served as gatekeeper, selecting what issues would be brought to his attention and delegating other issues to his cabinet. Eventually, Wilson resumed his attendance at cabinet meetings, but he had little input there.
Edith Wilson carefully screened all matters of state and decided which were important enough to bring to the bedridden president. She later wrote "I studied every paper sent from the different Secretaries or Senators and tried to digest and present in tabloid form the things that, despite my vigilance, had to go to the President. I, myself, never made a single decision regarding the disposition of public affairs. The only decision that was mine was what was important and what was not, and the very important decision of when to present matters to my husband."
Edith also strongly opposed allowing Vice President Thomas Riley Marshall to assume the powers of the presidency. In her memoir (fittingly enough called "My Memoir") published in 1939, she called her role a "stewardship" and stated emphatically that her husband's doctors had urged that course upon her.
Others, however, disagreed with her version of events and called it revisionism. One historian, Phyllis Levin, a former reporter for the New York Times, wrote, Edith Wilson was "a woman of narrow views and formidable determination" and blamed her for numerous diplomatic failures that occurred during her time as unofficial acting president.