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President Elect Wilson received a letter from eight-year-old Charles Conroy, just before Christmas in 1912. Charles’ father told him that Mr. Wilson was Santa Claus, so he sent his letter to Wilson, who was then the Governor of New Jersey, at the state house in Trenton. Wilson told his stenographer to delay the typing of letters and go shopping and see that she got everything that Charles and a few other children had asked for. Charles got his Christmas presents from President Santa Claus.
Just before his first Christmas in the White House, the first couple hosted a White House wedding. The President gave his daughter away shortly before the Christmas Season on November 26, 1913 to Francis B. Sayre. The White House also had its first Christmas tree that year, although it did not become a national tradition until Calvin Coolidge became president and First Lady Grace Coolidge gave permission to put a tree on the Ellipse. President Wilson asked that a community Christmas tree be placed at the Capitol in 1913, requesting a national tree lighting event to be started. A U.S. Marine Band, 1,000 singers, and a costumed group re-enacted the Nativity on Christmas Eve. Wilson also planted an elm tree outside the North Portico of the White House a few days before Christmas to symbolize peace and serenity. A night view of this tree would later become a watercolor done by Robert H. Laessig that graced the 1966 White House Christmas cards of President Lyndon Johnson.
Wilson’s daughter, Eleanor, had the second White House wedding in less than a year than the first. She married William Gibbs McAdoo on May 7, 1914. The First Lady’s health began to falter early in 1914 and she passed away in August. Wilson was devastated by the loss and became more concentrated on passing through Congress much of the reforms he wanted to enact. He was determined to keep the United States out of the war that broke out in Europe with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. With all that Wilson had to deal with in 1914, no Christmas tree was set up in the White House.
The lonely widower president was introduced to the widow Mrs. Edith Bolling Galt by his physician, Col. Cary Grayson. The couple tried to their courtship private, but the press wrote several negative articles. In spite of this, Wilson married Mrs. Galt in December of 1915. Wilson spent much of 1916 campaigning for the November election and working to stay out of the war in Europe. His campaign slogan was, “He kept us out of war.” He was re-elected in November by a narrow margin. Once again there were no Christmas cards, Christmas tree or other Christmas celebrations that year as Wilson was actively trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the war.
The German U-Boat menace and Germany's attempts to entice Mexico to war with the US prompted Wilson to call for a joint session of Congress on April 2, 1917. Congress deliberated for several days and declared war on April 6, 1917. Wilson was given full power over the price, production, and distribution of food and fuel supplies in August of 1917. The day after Christmas Wilson’s government took over the American Railroad systems and disrupted the Christmas travelers. A year later, after the Germans surrendered, Wilson became the first President to travel overseas while in office. He arrived in Europe on December 13, 1918 to great crowds of people shouting his name. Wilson addressed the troops serving in France with a Christmas message from Humes, France. He said, “There has been only one regret in America, and that was the regret that every man there felt that he was not here in France, too. It has been a hard thing to take part in directing what you did without coming over and helping you do it.”
After much discussion, peace was decided with the Versailles Treaty in June 1919, which contained many of Wilson’s ideas. This included the constitution for a League of Nations. Having returned to the U.S., Wilson addressed a hostile Republican Senate. He refused to back down on the U.S. joining a league of nations and decided to take his plan to the public. While on this nationwide speaking tour to promote the League of Nations, Wilson collapsed in Pueblo, Colorado from a stroke, leaving him paralyzed. His wife, Edith, and his doctor were the only ones to see him for a month. Any government business needing a signature was signed by his wife guiding his hand. He refused to turn the reins over to Vice President Thomas R. Marshall.
In 1920, Republican Warren G. Harding was elected President. Wilson left office disappointed that the League of Nations was not embraced by Congress. Woodrow Wilson died February 13, 1924 and was laid to rest in the National Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Washington, D.C. He is the only President to be buried in the nation’s capital.