Woodrow Wilson

this man is a minister's son a former professor an ivory tower intellectual thrown into the arena of world politics he is the president of the united states within his lifetime he will be acclaimed and idolized but from his deathbed he will see his dreams his plans for world peace crumble into dust his name is woodrow wilson and this is his biography [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] i'm mike wallace and this is biography our story woodrow wilson in the war-weary world of 1920 a sad and dying man pointed an accusing finger at the american people like a disappointed school master we had a chance he said to gain the leadership of the world we have lost it and soon we shall be witnessing the tragedy of it all the man who spoke those words was woodrow wilson 28th president of the united states a visionary an idealist he was also a stubborn man and his unwillingness or inability to compromise cost him his dream of an effective league of nations in 1912 thomas woodrow wilson a political newcomer toured the country campaigning for the presidency of the united states americans suddenly found this man standing in their midst shaking their hands and asking for their votes they knew very little about him and they asked themselves where'd he come from what had he done up until now what were his qualifications for the nation's highest office born in 1854 he's the son of a southern presbyterian minister the wilson family has occupied parsonages in starting virginia atlanta georgia and now in columbia south carolina at 17 thomas wilson is serious studious and straight laced as befits a minister's son thomas woodrow wilson changes his name to what he feels will be the more distinguished t woodrow wilson when he graduates from law school but after just one year of practice in georgia he gives up law he's disgusted by the scheming and haggling of carpetbagger politics in the south he starts a new career as a professor of law and history and this time he's far more successful by 1902 at the age of 48 as woodrow wilson he becomes president of princeton university believing he may just have political potential the democratic machine bosses of new jersey persuade him to run for governor in 1910. fresh from princeton's campus he wins an upset victory in the state elections he is a crusading governor filled with ivory tower ideals as one new jersey newspaper puts it this long-haired bookworm of a professor came down to the state house and licked the machine bosses to a frazzle two years later william jennings bryan the most powerful voice in national democratic politics is the force behind a wilson for president movement with brian's backing the little-known governor of new jersey is placed in nomination at the 1912 democratic convention after 10 hectic days of speeches and demonstrations and 46 roll call ballots the nomination is given to woodrow wilson a former professor an intellectual this is the man who now asks for the votes of the american people he loves the rough and tumble of the whistle stop campaign throughout the summer of 1912 woodrow wilson crosses swords with two seasoned political veterans the republican candidate is the current president william howard taft but his party is split right down the middle torn between his old guard conservatives and the progressives of the bull moose party colorful exciting theodore roosevelt heads the bull moose ticket he's wilson's most formidable rival roosevelt wants a government with far reaching control of national affairs he says only by exercising the power of government can we curb greed that sits in high places but woodrow wilson talks about a new age of freedom the history of liberty he says is the history of the limitation of governmental powers wilson's new freedom captures the imagination of the american people on november 5th 1912 he becomes the first democrat in 16 years to be elected president of the united states president taft accompanies him to the inauguration the former professor prepares to assume the enormous responsibilities of the presidency [Music] as wilson takes office he is aware of the tremendous powers and the tremendous potential of the presidency the man he says makes the office the office doesn't make the man [Music] woodrow wilson is a brisk business-like president he is aloof and reserved to most people in government circles he's known as the school master all mined in no heart but his official coolness disappears when he leaves his desk and then the public sees a different image of woodrow wilson never physically strong however he keeps his public appearances to a minimum saying his strength must be reserved for the big task [Music] the nation is entering an exciting era of change a new age of invention and mass production have revolutionized american life wall street controls the booming industrial centers which have sprung up to meet the demand for more goods giant holding companies rule the nation's economy and they become the first targets of the wilson administration tariffs are lowered on foreign imports to increase competition and bring down the price of goods and for the first time americans will pay an income tax theoretically it won't be felt by the little man only by the rich [Music] 1916 is an election year and one great issue faces the president and the nation the war in europe for two years the french and british have fought the germans while the united states follows a policy of strict neutrality at wilson's insistence [Music] as the presidential campaign gets underway wilson leaves for the summer white house in shadow lawn new jersey he will not go through the long grueling cross-country trips he made in 1912 instead he delivers a speech each saturday from the porch of his home his theme is peace and neutrality with dignity and honor [Music] many americans however oppose wilson's policies they agitate for american entry into the war [Music] wilson's neutrality barely carries the day he's elected for a second term by the uncomfortably narrow margin of just 23 electoral votes [Applause] early in 1917 germany unleashes unrestricted submarine warfare [Music] [Applause] for the first time american lives and property are involved in europe's war [Music] u.s merchant vessels are given guns to protect themselves the president issues a vigorous protest to the german government but the kaiser's answer on april 2nd 1918 woodrow wilson commits the united states to a course of action he has tried desperately to avoid appearing before the congress he declares right is more precious than peace the world must be made safe for democracy [Music] woodrow wilson leads the greatest mobilization in the history of the nation it is not an army we must shape and train for war says president wilson it is a nation [Music] a great wave of patriotism sweeps the country by a liberty bond is the national slogan show business goes all out to help the country's war effort movie stars help raise the money to beat the kaiser douglas fairbanks charlie chaplin [Music] sarah bernhardt mary pickford through every street of every city march the doughboys of world war one four million men mobilized by presidential orders they're going over there spurred by woodrow wilson's battle pride force force to the utmost force without stint or limit [Music] on november 11 1918 the shooting stops the fighting ends the supreme test is finished wilson is appalled by the carnage he had talked of peace with dignity and honor but more than a hundred thousand americans have died in this war he vows that it must never happen again that he will find a way to put an end to all war [Applause] [Applause] so [Applause] [Music] woodrow wilson joins the nation to celebrate the end of the war to end all wars but wilson doesn't know that his most tragic battle is yet to come [Music] on december 4th 1918 less than a month after the armistice woodrow wilson sails for europe to attend the paris peace conference he carries with him to europe what he calls a program for the peace of the world his famous 14 points that program is the basis for the armistice but more important it calls for the formation of a world body to ensure lasting peace a league of nations he looks ahead to his role in europe as the architect of the ideal piece this trip he says will either be the greatest success or the supremest tragedy in all history [Music] [Applause] his reception in france thrills and encourages those [Applause] [Music] [Applause] millions turn out to greet him they call him the savior the champion of peace the christopher columbus of a new world [Music] [Applause] in england he tells the crowds the people of the world want peace and they want it now it is my duty to lend counsel to this great enterprise of humanity the words of an idealist of what one reporter calls the shining smiling man [Applause] [Music] [Applause] in italy the welcome is even more triumphant and it convinces wilson that he is indeed the hope of the world his call for a league of nations is stronger than ever our task in paris he says is to organize the friendship of the world to see to it that all the moral forces that make for right and justice are [Music] [Applause] on united 18 1919 the peace conference convenes in paris britain's lloyd george has agreed in principle to wilson's league of nations but he's a wily politician who wants england to have her full share of the spoils of war italy's premier orlando is less interested in a league of nations than he is in recovering territories taken by austria during the war premier clemenceau the tiger of france is quoted as saying god gave us the ten commandments and we broke them wilson gives us the fourteen points and we shall see and within a month the big four despite their quarrels and different aims seem to be in agreement the league of nations is almost a reality but woodrow wilson must hurry back to the united states congress is about to adjourn and the president will have to be in washington to sign or veto last-minute bills he feels he has accomplished what he set out to do [Music] his welcome in boston is deceptive it is more an evidence of deep-rooted respect for the president than a sincere vote of confidence for his statesmanship in paris the sniping at his league of nations has already begun [Applause] the opposition is led by senator henry cabot lodge at a white house meeting wilson comes face to face with senator lodge and his supporters the determined president states his position so unequivocally that lodge bristles afterwards lodge calls the peace treaty ill-drawn and a breeder of misunderstanding and senator frank brandergy speaks of wilson with venom i feel says the senator as if i had been wandering with alice in wonderland and had tea with the mad hatter although physically exhausted the president must return to europe to sign the peace treaty and with the treaty he vows he will bring back a league of nations he dares the senate to turn it down [Music] the formal ending of world war one leaders of every nation in the world gathered to witness the signing of the peace treaty at versailles in the hall of mirrors the long conferences have whittled away at wilson's 14 points most of them are no longer a part of the peace treaty the final document contains instead an endless series of compromises but still at its heart there is the league of nations the final step for president wilson must now be to win the approval of the united states senate meeting with the president on his return the foreign relations committee spearheaded by lodge expressed serious reservations about the league point by point they demand changes that will undercut its power wilson rejects their suggestions instead he decides to carry the fight to the people to tell them why the treaty must be signed he plans a strenuous nationwide speaking tour despite the warnings of his doctor it will be no strain on me he says on the contrary i will enjoy it [Music] [Applause] the tour begins in columbus ohio on september 4th 1919. [Music] the whole world he says turns with outstretched hands to this blessed country of ours [Music] the pattern of the trip is set here the parade through crowded streets then the impassioned plead [Music] [Applause] [Music] woodrow wilson relishes this kind of fight he's at his best surrounded by crowds delivering impassioned speeches saint louis and to the ex-doughboys he says you fought for something you did not get you are betrayed his greeting in los angeles is overwhelming [Music] he's exhausted from the grind of making two speeches a day without the use of loud speakers but this spectacle renews his strength and his conviction that he is right but wherever wilson speaks he's followed by two members of the senate hiram johnson of california and william borah of idaho in city after city they slash away at wilson's arguments they warned that america must remain free of foreign entanglements which they say could draw us into future wars and wilson's friends brand the two senators the battalion of death after 21 grueling days the president is on the verge of collapse but he refuses to quit at pueblo colorado on september 25th he tells his audience truth and justice will lead us into the pastures of quietness and peace the world never dreamed of before [Music] these are the last words he speaks on the tour his personal physician orders him to cancel the rest of the trip he is rushed back to washington within a few days he suffers a stroke that leaves him partially paralyzed and virtually incapable of continuing as the nation's chief executive the battle is over he is a dying man and he has given his life in a losing [Music] cause on march 19 1920 the senate rejects the treaty and the league of nations the nation is sick of war and the problems of peace it wants normalcy the kind of normalcy is symbolized by warren g harding the republican candidate for president in 1920 harding defeats the democratic nominee by one of the largest majorities in history on march 4th 1921 an ailing heartsick woodrow wilson accompanies warren harding to the inauguration ceremonies [Music] just eight years before a vigorous smiling figure had taken this same ride [Music] woodrow wilson retires to a modest home in washington well-wishers pay their respects to the man they now call the lame lion the country at large however has forgotten wilson's cause and he can do nothing about it he is too old too weak to play any further role in politics but he still talks of peace still clings stubbornly to his dream of an effective league of nations and in these last days of his life he can only hope that someday other men will raise high the banners which he had carried with such dedication toward the end of his life woodrow wilson made this simple statement i would rather lose he said in the cause that i know someday will triumph than to triumph in the cause that i know someday will fail wilson's league of nations was never realized but his cause eventually triumphed the united nations stands as a memorial to his vision his ideals mike wallace for biography so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you