Woodrow Wilson Born

On December 28, 1856, Woodrow Wilson was born. He was the last American president to be born before the American Civil War began. He served as President of Princeton University before entering politics in 1911 as the Governor of New Jersey. One of the main reasons he won the presidency in 1912 was that the Republican vote was split between incumbent William Howard Taft and former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt had split off from the Republican Party to form the Bull Moose Party to oppose Taft's reelection.

Wilson attempted to keep America out of the war in Europe that would become World War I. However, Germany would not negotiate and stepped up its maritime warfare. In April, 1917, after being reelected to the presidency, Wilson went to Congress asking for a declaration of war against Germany. He always made it clear, however, that America was not entering the war as one of the allies, but instead as an associate fighting to make the world "safe for democracy."

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