Presidents in Retirement: Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson is another example of a President who had his retirement cut short because of serious health issues. His final days in office were spent in an incapacitated state, the result of a severe stoke that Wilson suffered in the fall of 1919. The immediate cause of Wilson's condition was the physical strain of the public speaking tour he undertook in support of ratification of the Treaty of Versailles. In Pueblo, Colorado, on September 25, 1919, he collapsed prior to a speaking engagement and he ended his tour and headed home to Washington by train. Then on October 2, 1919, he suffered a serious stroke, which left him paralyzed on his left side, along with blindness in his left eye and with only partial vision in the right eye. He was found on the floor by White House usher Ike Hoover and was confined to bed for several weeks. He was cut off from contact with anyone other than his his wife Edith Wilson and physician, Dr. Cary Grayson. For some months, Wilson used a wheelchair and later he required use of a cane. His wife and his aide Joe Tumulty were said to have conspired to get a journalist, Louis Seibold, to present a false account of an interview with the President, in order to present a false picture of the state of Wilson's health to the world.
Wilson's wife Edith served in the role of acting president. She selected what matters were placed before him for his attention and she delegated other matters to members of his cabinet to deal with. Decisions that she felt were not important enough were put on hold. Wilson temporarily resumed a perfunctory attendance at cabinet meetings, but he was could not participate in discussions and was essentially furniture.
On October 5, Secretary of State Robert Lansing proposed that Vice-President Thomas Marshall take steps to assume the presidency. Other cabinet secretaries and some leaders in Congress backed Lansing on this proposal, including members of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Some of them also sent private communications to Marshall. After consulting with his wife and with a long-time personal adviser, Marshall decided not to do so. Marshall hoped that Wilson would voluntarily allow his powers to devolve to the vice president, but that was not going to happen because of Wilson's condition. Marshall told the cabinet that the only cases in which he would assume the presidency were a joint resolution of Congress calling on him to do so, or an official communication from Wilson or his staff asserting his inability to perform his duties.
Marshall tried to meet with Wilson to personally determine his condition, but he could not get past Wilson's gatekeepers. Instead he relied on vague updates he received from Doctor Grayson. A group of Congressional leaders initiated Marshall's requested joint resolution. The senators opposed to the League of Nations treaty were afraid that, as president Marshall would make several key concessions that would allow the treaty to win ratification. Wilson, in his present condition, was either unwilling or unable to make the concessions, and debate on the bill had resulted in a deadlock. In order to prevent the treaty's ratification, the anti-League senators blocked the joint resolution.
On December 4, Lansing announced in a Senate committee hearing that no one in the cabinet had spoken with or seen Wilson in over sixty days. A group of Senators requested that a committee be sent to check on Wilson's condition, hoping to gain evidence to support their cause. They became colloquially called the "smelling committee" by several newspapers. When the group met with Wilson, they concluded that the President was in very poor health, but seemed to have recovered enough of his faculties to make decisions. Their report killed any impetus for the joint resolution.
At a Sunday church service in mid-December, a courier brought a message to Marshall, informing him that Wilson had died. Marshall was shocked, and rose to announce the news to the congregation. The ministers held a prayer, the congregation began singing hymns, and many people wept. Marshall and his wife exited the building, and made a call to the White House to determine his next course of action, only to learn that he had been the victim of a hoax, and that Wilson was still living.
By February 1920, the President's true condition became publicly known. At issue was Wilson's fitness for the presidency at a time when the fight for the League of Nations was reaching a climax. There were also serious domestic issues such as strikes, unemployment, inflation and the threat of Communism that were clamoring for attention. No one close to him, including his wife, his physician, or his chief advisor, was willing to admit Wilson was unable to perform the duties of the presidency. Almost a half century later, in 1967, the 25th Amendment was ratified, which allowed for the replacement of a president who was unable to perform the duties of the office.
On March 4, 1921, Wilson attended the inauguration of his successor, Warren Harding. The inauguration was the first in which an automobile was used to transport the president-elect and the outgoing president to and from the Capitol. After the end of his time as president, Wilson and his wife moved into an elegant 1915 town house in the Embassy Row section of Washington, D.C. Wilson continued his habit of going for daily automobile rides (as passenger), something that seemed to improve his condition. He and Edith attended Keith's Vaudeville Theatre on Saturday nights. His health limited his ability to participate in many activities, but he did do as Theodore Roosevelt had done, serving as president of the American Historical Association.
Later in 1921, Wilson opened a law office with one of his former Secretaries of State, Bainbridge Colby. Wilson did not enjoy the practice of law the first time he tired it, and his second attempt at practicing law was no more enjoyable than his first. The practice was closed by the end of 1922. Wilson was able to return to writing. He published a couple of short books on the international impact of the American Revolution and the rise of totalitarianism. He also did some limited campaigning for Democratic candidates in the 1922 elections. He hinted to friends that he might pursue a third term in the 1924 presidential election, but this wasn't taken seriously by any prominent Democrats. In August 1923, he attended the funeral of his successor, Warren Harding.
On November 10, 1923, Wilson made a short Armistice Day radio speech from the library of his home. It was to be his last national address. The following day he spoke briefly from the front steps of his home to more than 20,000 well wishers gathered outside the house.
On February 3, 1924, Wilson died at home from a stroke and other heart-related problems. He was 67 years of age. He was interred in a sarcophagus in Washington National Cathedral and is the only president interred in the nation's capital. Edith Wilson lived in the home for another 37 years, dying there at age 89 on December 28, 1961, (which coincidentally was her husband's birthday). On the day of her death she was scheduled to be the guest of honor at the opening of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge across the Potomac River near Washington. Wilson left his daughter Margaret an annuity of $2,500 annually for as long as she remained unmarried, and left to his daughters what had been his first wife's personal property. The residue of his estate was left to Edith as a life estate with the provision that at her death, his daughters would divide the estate among themselves. Wilson's presidential papers and his personal library are at the Library of Congress.
Wilson's wife Edith served in the role of acting president. She selected what matters were placed before him for his attention and she delegated other matters to members of his cabinet to deal with. Decisions that she felt were not important enough were put on hold. Wilson temporarily resumed a perfunctory attendance at cabinet meetings, but he was could not participate in discussions and was essentially furniture.
On October 5, Secretary of State Robert Lansing proposed that Vice-President Thomas Marshall take steps to assume the presidency. Other cabinet secretaries and some leaders in Congress backed Lansing on this proposal, including members of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Some of them also sent private communications to Marshall. After consulting with his wife and with a long-time personal adviser, Marshall decided not to do so. Marshall hoped that Wilson would voluntarily allow his powers to devolve to the vice president, but that was not going to happen because of Wilson's condition. Marshall told the cabinet that the only cases in which he would assume the presidency were a joint resolution of Congress calling on him to do so, or an official communication from Wilson or his staff asserting his inability to perform his duties.
Marshall tried to meet with Wilson to personally determine his condition, but he could not get past Wilson's gatekeepers. Instead he relied on vague updates he received from Doctor Grayson. A group of Congressional leaders initiated Marshall's requested joint resolution. The senators opposed to the League of Nations treaty were afraid that, as president Marshall would make several key concessions that would allow the treaty to win ratification. Wilson, in his present condition, was either unwilling or unable to make the concessions, and debate on the bill had resulted in a deadlock. In order to prevent the treaty's ratification, the anti-League senators blocked the joint resolution.
On December 4, Lansing announced in a Senate committee hearing that no one in the cabinet had spoken with or seen Wilson in over sixty days. A group of Senators requested that a committee be sent to check on Wilson's condition, hoping to gain evidence to support their cause. They became colloquially called the "smelling committee" by several newspapers. When the group met with Wilson, they concluded that the President was in very poor health, but seemed to have recovered enough of his faculties to make decisions. Their report killed any impetus for the joint resolution.
At a Sunday church service in mid-December, a courier brought a message to Marshall, informing him that Wilson had died. Marshall was shocked, and rose to announce the news to the congregation. The ministers held a prayer, the congregation began singing hymns, and many people wept. Marshall and his wife exited the building, and made a call to the White House to determine his next course of action, only to learn that he had been the victim of a hoax, and that Wilson was still living.
By February 1920, the President's true condition became publicly known. At issue was Wilson's fitness for the presidency at a time when the fight for the League of Nations was reaching a climax. There were also serious domestic issues such as strikes, unemployment, inflation and the threat of Communism that were clamoring for attention. No one close to him, including his wife, his physician, or his chief advisor, was willing to admit Wilson was unable to perform the duties of the presidency. Almost a half century later, in 1967, the 25th Amendment was ratified, which allowed for the replacement of a president who was unable to perform the duties of the office.
On March 4, 1921, Wilson attended the inauguration of his successor, Warren Harding. The inauguration was the first in which an automobile was used to transport the president-elect and the outgoing president to and from the Capitol. After the end of his time as president, Wilson and his wife moved into an elegant 1915 town house in the Embassy Row section of Washington, D.C. Wilson continued his habit of going for daily automobile rides (as passenger), something that seemed to improve his condition. He and Edith attended Keith's Vaudeville Theatre on Saturday nights. His health limited his ability to participate in many activities, but he did do as Theodore Roosevelt had done, serving as president of the American Historical Association.
Later in 1921, Wilson opened a law office with one of his former Secretaries of State, Bainbridge Colby. Wilson did not enjoy the practice of law the first time he tired it, and his second attempt at practicing law was no more enjoyable than his first. The practice was closed by the end of 1922. Wilson was able to return to writing. He published a couple of short books on the international impact of the American Revolution and the rise of totalitarianism. He also did some limited campaigning for Democratic candidates in the 1922 elections. He hinted to friends that he might pursue a third term in the 1924 presidential election, but this wasn't taken seriously by any prominent Democrats. In August 1923, he attended the funeral of his successor, Warren Harding.
On November 10, 1923, Wilson made a short Armistice Day radio speech from the library of his home. It was to be his last national address. The following day he spoke briefly from the front steps of his home to more than 20,000 well wishers gathered outside the house.
On February 3, 1924, Wilson died at home from a stroke and other heart-related problems. He was 67 years of age. He was interred in a sarcophagus in Washington National Cathedral and is the only president interred in the nation's capital. Edith Wilson lived in the home for another 37 years, dying there at age 89 on December 28, 1961, (which coincidentally was her husband's birthday). On the day of her death she was scheduled to be the guest of honor at the opening of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge across the Potomac River near Washington. Wilson left his daughter Margaret an annuity of $2,500 annually for as long as she remained unmarried, and left to his daughters what had been his first wife's personal property. The residue of his estate was left to Edith as a life estate with the provision that at her death, his daughters would divide the estate among themselves. Wilson's presidential papers and his personal library are at the Library of Congress.