WOODROW WILSON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM (Mark)

In case you wanted to keep track, this is the fourth presidential library and museum we have visited and blogged about.  Not that we like museums . . .

The museum and house Woodrow Wilson was born in are in Staunton, VA.  We started our tour of the house, a Presbyterian minister's home built in 1846.  It has 12 rooms and 12 fireplaces.  Wilson’s father was a minister; they moved into the house in 1855.  Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born in the house on December 28, 1856.

Our tour started downstairs in the working portion of the house, inhabited by the three enslaved persons, contracted to the church from a nearby plantation.  This is the wood stove and oven, in the central portion of the kitchen:

Notice the stove is on a sandbox to try and decrease chances of a fire spreading to the house.

The kitchen and scullery make up half of the lower floor of the house.  The slaves worked and slept in the space.  The cook was the only one to have an actual room to sleep in separate from the work space.

This is the bed the cook had to sleep in, and one of her dresses:

The others had large beanbag-type cushions that were kept out of sight during the day, then dragged out at night to sleep on.

As you walk into the main floor of the house you immediately see the parlor, set up for visiting guests.  Rich floor coverings, intricate wallpaper, fancy chairs, and musical instruments.  This main floor was used for company and events.

Wilson called Staunton his home even though the family only lived here for a couple of years before moving to Georgia, North and South Carolina.  After he was elected to the presidency Wilson came back to Staunton before heading to Washington D.C.

Wilson was elected to the presidency in 1912 after being governor of New Jersey for two years. 

The election was unusual in that Teddy Roosevelt had started the Bull Moose Party, splitting the Republican support.

Ticket to the Inaugural Parade:

I love these little pieces of Americana. 

Wilson had a very busy first term, addressing huge issues including the Suffragette movement, segregation, banking issues, immigration, and the events leading to WWI.

He ran a progressive New Freedom domestic agenda.  The Federal Reserve and the modern income tax were started. 

In 1914 when WWI began, Wilson declared the US neutrality, and tried to negotiate a peace.

His wife Ellen also died of Bright’s disease that year, which left Wilson devastated, but he married his second wife Edith the next year.

Wilson ran for re-election in 1916.  This election it was much different campaign than the 1912 election.  This map shows the results:

Much of the second term was involved with the run-up and entry into WWI.  Wilson was rated as a fairly good war time president.

He was very opposed to war in general, after seeing the effects of the Civil War on the soldiers.  His father’s church had been turned into a hospital during the Civil War and Wilson had seen the physical and psychological effects on the soldiers who fought.

Wilson had very specific ideas about how the war should end and what should happen with governments.  The League of Nations was his idea and he fought to try to bring it to fruition, however - probably due to the stress and constant travel and work he put into this cause - his health declined.

Later in his second term he suffered a serious stroke.  Edith Wilson cared for Wilson and made many of the political decisions during the end of that term.  Woodrow had been planning on running for a third term, but his health prevented this.

The absolutely beautiful 1919 Pierce Arrow, which Wilson loved:

After Wilson left the office of President the Presidential Seal was replaced by the W.W. initials, and he continued using the car until his death in 1924.