Early life and academic career of Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States. The early life of Woodrow Wilson covers the time period from his birth in late 1856 through his entry into electoral politics in 1910. Wilson spent his early years in the American South, mainly in Augusta, Georgia, during the Civil War and Reconstruction. After earning a Ph.D. in political science from Johns Hopkins University, Wilson taught at various schools before becoming the president of Princeton University. Wilson later went onto become governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913, a major progressive reformer and then finally, President of the United States from 1913 to 1921.
Academic career[edit]
Professor[edit]
In late 1883, Wilson entered Johns Hopkins University, a new graduate institution in Baltimore modeled after German universities.[39] In order to successfully complete his Ph.D., Wilson studied the German language extensively. At times Wilson referenced German sources, both as an academic and during the lead up to America's entry into World War I; though he noted doing so took considerable time and effort as he was not fully fluent.[40] Wilson hoped to become a professor, writing that "a professorship was the only feasible place for me, the only place that would afford leisure for reading and for original work, the only strictly literary berth with an income attached."[41] During his time at Johns Hopkins, Wilson took courses by eminent scholars such as Herbert Baxter Adams, Richard T. Ely, and J. Franklin Jameson.[42] Wilson spent much of his time at Johns Hopkins writing Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics, which grew out of a series of essays in which he examined the workings of the federal government.[43] He received a Ph.D. in history of government from Johns Hopkins in 1886.[44]
In early 1885, Houghton Mifflin published Congressional Government, which received a strong reception; one critic called it "the best critical writing on the American constitution which has appeared since the Federalist Papers." That same year, Wilson accepted a teaching position at Bryn Mawr College, a newly established women's college on the Philadelphia Main Line.[45] Wilson taught at Bryn Mawr College from 1885 until 1888.[46] He taught ancient Greek and Roman history, American history, political science, and other subjects. He sought to inspire "genuine living interest in the subjects of study" and asked students to "look into ancient times as if they were our own times."[47] In 1888, Wilson left Bryn Mawr for Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.[48] At Wesleyan he coached the football team, founded a debate team,[49] and taught graduate courses in political economy and Western history.[50]
In February 1890, with the help of friends, Wilson was elected by the Princeton University Board of Trustees to the Chair of Jurisprudence and Political Economy, at an annual salary of $3,000 (equivalent to $101,733 in 2023).[51] He quickly gained a reputation as a compelling speaker; one student described him as "the greatest class-room lecturer I ever have heard."[52] During his time as a professor at Princeton, he also delivered a series of lectures at Johns Hopkins, New York Law School, and Colorado College.[53] In 1896, Francis Landey Patton announced that Princeton would henceforth officially be known as Princeton University instead of the College of New Jersey, and he unveiled an ambitious program of expansion that included the establishment of a graduate school.[54] In the 1896 presidential election, Wilson rejected Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan and supported the conservative "Gold Democrat" nominee, John M. Palmer.[55] Wilson's academic reputation continued to grow throughout the 1890s, and he turned down positions at Johns Hopkins, the University of Virginia, and other schools because he wanted to remain at Princeton.[56]