Woodrow Wilson

Years in Office: 1913 to 1921

Woodrow Wilson lead the United States through World War I and gained lasting fame as a champion of the world peace and democracy. Before he became president he had been a teacher and then President of Princeton University.

When Wilson was president, the 1st air mail service was established in1918 between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., airplanes were used for the first time as fighting machines in World War I, the first telephone lines linking New York and San Francisco began operating in 1915, and the first commercial radio broadcasts were made from Detroit and Pittsburgh in 1920.


Three amendments were added to the constitution. Number 17 provided for the Election of U.S. Senators by popular vote, number 18 banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. Number 19 passed in 1920 gave women the right to vote. The Panama Canal begun in 1906 was finished in 1920 and officially opened.


In 1920 Wilson was given the Nobel peace prize for his attempt to establish the League of Nations to promote World Peace.