Woodrow Wilson Accomplishments

Sophia Harris

Mr. Johnson

Honors History

5/15/23

The presidency of Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson once said, “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” This applied to his presidency 100 years ago, and it still applies today. People don’t always like change and are almost always hesitant to accept it. Woodrow Wilson was a Democrat and was the 28th president of the United States. He was in office from 1913-1921. During and after his presidency, Wilson became known for his successful involvement in the ratification of the 19th Amendment, his positive effect on working and labor laws, and his failure to get America to join the League of Nations. Women have fought for their right to vote since the late 1840s. It wasn’t until

Children worked in mines, factories, and fields. They would work long hours and receive very little pay. Some kids as young as five years old worked in factories. They worked in poor, dangerous conditions with harmful fumes, gasses, and equipment. Wilson saw what was happening throughout the country and decided to pass the Keating-Owen Act in 1916. Although it was later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, this act shortened working hours and prohibited the interstate sale of goods that were produced from child labor. Even though this act failed to be passed until the 1940s, Wilson passed another law called the Adamson Act. The Adamson Act ensured an eight-hour workday for railroad workers, and more pay if they had to work overtime. “He championed labor laws to institute an 8-hour day on railroads (and time-and-a-half for overtime), and to prohibit the shipment of any product produced by child labor in interstate commerce.” (Bushong). This was a success during Wilson’s presidency because this was the first time the government had tried to improve working conditions for workers that weren’t a part of the government. This was a success for Wilson even though he failed to convince the Supreme Court to pass the Keating-Owen Act. He still was able to pass the Adamson Act and help railroad workers get better hours. Wilson’s efforts to improve working conditions showed that he cared about the working force of

After World War I, Wilson came up with an idea which he called the League of Nations. Wilson wanted to create an organization that would help the world maintain peace or to help countries resolve conflicts before they got too out of hand. He asked the leaders of multiple countries, including France, Italy, and Great Britain, to meet and come up with a League of Nations. The League of Nations was successful in solving some issues, but Wilson failed with this idea because America never ended up joining. Many countries also ended up not joining, which meant that they didn’t have to follow the rules that were made by the League of Nations. He tried to convince Congress and the Senate to join, but he wasn’t able to. “President Wilson’s intense lobbying efforts on behalf of US membership in the League of Nations met with firm opposition from isolationist members of Congress, particularly Republican Senators William Borah and Henry Cabot Lodge.” (Khan). This was also a failure for Wilson because the League of Nations is ultimately seen as a failure since it didn’t prevent World War II. Wilson was trying to convince Congress and the Senate to join a group that wasn’t able to do what he was saying it would. The League of Nations ended in 1946 and the United Nations was made